'Dan-sik' Lee Jae-myung's First Trial for Daejang-dong Postponed to Next Month 6

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has been on a hunger strike for over two weeks, requested a postponement of the first trial date scheduled for the 15th regarding the preferential treatment allegations related to Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town, and the court accepted the request.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung has been continuing his hunger strike for the 15th day on the afternoon of the 14th at the party leader's office in the National Assembly. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Criminal Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Dong-hyun) postponed the first trial date of Lee’s case concerning the preferential treatment allegations related to Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town and the Seongnam FC suspicions, originally scheduled for the 15th, to October 6th. The day before, Lee’s defense attorney submitted a request for postponement to the court.

Lee has been on a hunger strike for 15 days as of that day. He moved the location of his strike from a tent in front of the National Assembly main building to his office inside the main building the day before. While the defendant is not required to attend the preparatory hearing for the criminal trial, attendance is mandatory on the trial date. At the last preparatory hearing on the 1st, the presiding judge asked, "Lee is on a hunger strike; is he able to attend the trial?" Lee’s side responded, "By September 15th, his physical condition may be so poor that attendance itself might be impossible." The judge then said, "If there are serious circumstances, we will postpone accordingly."

Earlier, Lee was indicted on March 22nd on charges including breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, violations of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, and the Anti-Corruption Act, related to the preferential treatment corruption in the development of Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town and the Seongnam FC sponsorship allegations. The court planned to consolidate the trial with the bribery charges against Jeong Jin-sang, former chief of the political coordination office in Lee’s office, which is being conducted separately, and to proceed with the examination of key witnesses such as former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation director Yoo Dong-gyu, lawyer Nam Wook, and accountant Jeong Young-hak. Since Lee intends to continue his hunger strike, this may also affect the schedule of his separate trial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.