Election Law Violation: Lee Hak-su, Former Mayor of Jeongeup, Jeonbuk, 'Retains Position'

Supreme Court Rules "Remand for Retrial"... Avoids Risk of Election Nullification
Judged as "Expression of Opinion" Not "False Fact Disclosure"
"Policy Pledge Verification and Criticism Should Be Broadly Protected"

Former Jeongeup Mayor Lee Hak-su, who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act and received a sentence nullifying his election in the first and second trials, will retain his mayoral position for the time being due to the Supreme Court's remand.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Sang-hwan) on the 31st overturned the lower court's ruling that sentenced Mayor Lee Hak-su to a fine of 10 million won and sent the case back to the Jeonju branch of the Gwangju High Court.

Lee Hak-su, Mayor of Jeongeup. [Photo by Jeongeup City]

The Supreme Court judged that the mayor's statements were "expressions of opinion" rather than "publication of false facts." The crime of publishing false facts requires intent. However, the lower court's conviction based solely on the mayor's negligence was deemed inappropriate.

Ahead of the 8th nationwide simultaneous local elections, from May 26 to 31, 2022, Mayor Lee raised suspicions of real estate speculation against his opponent, independent candidate Kim Min-young, through TV and radio debates and press releases, stating that "approximately 167,081㎡ of forest and farmland near Gujeolcho Park were intensively purchased, with some instances of strategic landholding (albakgi)."

In response, candidate Kim denied the claims as "untrue," reported Mayor Lee to the prosecution, and the case went to trial. Both the first and second trials sentenced Mayor Lee to a fine of 10 million won. The court stated, "The defendant raised insufficiently substantiated real estate speculation allegations close to the election date," recognizing guilt.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that statements made during TV debates, radio debates, and in press releases should be distinguished. The Supreme Court stated, "The overall implication can be understood as suspicion that the opposing candidate proposed the national garden promotion pledge for personal gain," and "Expressions such as 'albakgi' can be understood in the context of pointing out potential conflicts of interest or inappropriateness in the opponent's national garden promotion pledge."

The Supreme Court also reportedly applied the precedent set in the Lee Jae-myung case, viewing the problematic expressions as separate matters. The Supreme Court added, "In elections, proposing policy pledges or criticizing and verifying them opens a communication and public discourse channel between candidates and voters through pledges, forming elections as a field of policy competition, thereby enabling substantive representative democracy to function. Therefore, expressions related to policy pledges or their criticism and verification need broader protection."

Mayor Lee will face another judgment at the Jeonju branch of the Gwangju High Court following the Supreme Court's remand. Elected officials lose their positions if sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for violating the Public Official Election Act.

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