‘Election Law Violation’ Charges: Former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jeong-geun Sentenced to 1 Year Imprisonment and 2 Years Probation in First Trial

Lee Jeong-geun, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was indicted for paying election campaign workers allowances exceeding the legal limit during the March 2022 by-elections and the June local elections, was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.

Lee Jeong-geun, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon) on the 17th sentenced Lee, indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension and a fine of 2 million KRW. Defendants who were indicted for giving money to the former deputy secretary-general received prison sentences of 4 to 8 months with suspensions of 1 to 2 years, and election campaign workers were fined between 700,000 and 1.2 million KRW.

The court stated, "Based on testimonies from related parties and the exchanged messages, all charges against Lee are recognized as guilty," adding, "Lee held a particularly heavy responsibility as a candidate for the National Assembly by-election, playing a key role in the election campaign."

Lee ran as the Democratic Party candidate for the Seocho-gap district in Seoul in the March 9 by-election and was prosecuted in September of the same year along with about ten others, including the accounting manager and election campaign workers, for paying allowances exceeding the legal limit.

Meanwhile, Lee was previously arrested and indicted on charges of receiving bribes worth over 1 billion KRW from businessman Park Mo in exchange for various favors such as personnel appointments, and in December last year, the Supreme Court confirmed his sentence of 4 years and 2 months in prison.

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