'Retaliatory Driving Fine' Lee Kyung "Unfair"... Court's Judgment Based on 'Credibility'

Lee Kyung's Retaliatory Driving Controversy Remains Unresolved
Democratic Party's Disqualification in General Election Challenged
Lee Kyung Intends to Appeal, Legal Dispute Enters Round 2

Former Democratic Party spokesperson Lee Kyung's controversy over retaliatory driving is expected to continue until the appellate court issues its judgment. Lee, who was fined in the first trial, was deemed ineligible for the general election by the Democratic Party but expressed his intention to file an objection. Based on an explanatory post he uploaded on social media, he also raised suspicions regarding the police investigation at the time.

Lee has consistently denied the retaliatory driving charges, but the first trial court judged his claims to be "not credible." Judge Jung Yumi of the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 11 sentenced Lee, who was indicted on charges of special intimidation, to a fine of 5 million won.

On the evening of November 12, 2021, around 10 p.m., Lee was driving a passenger car on a road in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, when he cut in front of Mr. A's vehicle in the adjacent lane. When Mr. A honked and flashed his high beams, Lee, displeased, repeatedly braked sharply right in front of Mr. A's car, leading to the trial.

Lee Kyung, former deputy spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea

However, regarding this, Lee denied the retaliatory driving charges on the YouTube channel 'Saenal,' stating, "I absolutely did not drive," and added, "If I had driven, I would not have said that I would go to the police station immediately when contacted by the police two years ago."

Additionally, on the 21st, through his Facebook account, he claimed, "The GPS records show that I was waiting for a substitute driver," and "Considering the location information submitted to the police and the timing of my SNS posts, I stayed near Yeouido until around 9:40 to 9:50 p.m." He further stated, "There is no evidence anywhere that I was driving," and "The complainant also said in court that they did not see me."

Lee continued, "I do not appear as the driver in the black box footage," and "The police investigated CCTV and black box footage but could not identify me as the driver. Rather, I secured the CCTV footage and requested the police to investigate, but they did not."

The first trial court questioned the credibility of Lee's claims. Judge Jung pointed out in the verdict, "There is no objective evidence such as the contact information of the substitute driver regarding the claim that the substitute driver was driving at the time of the incident, and Lee has not provided any information," adding, "Considering the important role played, it is hard to believe that there are no records related to schedule management."

Furthermore, the judge explained, "It is very unusual for a substitute driver to engage in threatening or retaliatory driving while driving a vehicle that is not their own," and "It is hard to accept that a professional substitute driver would risk a 100-day license suspension by engaging in such behavior."

He also added, "The defendant's passenger car was traveling at a speed of 50 to 60 km/h and then came to a complete stop by sudden braking. The defendant, who was inside the car at the time, claims to have been in a deep sleep and felt no impact on both occasions," but noted, "Considering that the sudden braking occurred just 10 minutes after departure, this claim is also hard to believe."

Judge Jung ruled, "Based on the facts and evidence, it can be reasonably acknowledged that the defendant was driving the passenger car himself, and the claim that he was merely a passenger in a vehicle driven by a substitute driver is hard to believe."

However, former spokesperson Lee Kyung rebutted the contents of the verdict point by point and expressed his intention to respond to what he considers an unfair judgment in the second trial.

Regarding his exclusion from the Democratic Party's nomination, Lee also stated, "I will file an objection and properly clarify each point again."

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