Ahn Cheol-soo: "Lee Jae-myung's Appeal Trial Must Be Sentenced on February 15"

"Even the President Was Arrested for Treason Under the Constitution and Rule of Law"
"Lee Jaemyung Cannot Be an Exception to the Rule of Law"

On the 16th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, stated, "The appeal trial of Lee Jae-myung must also be sentenced on February 15 in accordance with the rule of law."

On the same day, Ahn said on his Facebook, "Even the sitting president was arrested under a warrant for treason in accordance with the constitution and the rule of law. The appeal trial of Lee Jae-myung, the leader, for violations of the Public Official Election Act and perjury inducement cannot be an exception to the rule of law," expressing this view.

He added, "The reason why extreme factional conflicts have intensified even after President Yoon's impeachment and many citizens do not accept the execution of warrants under the rule of law is due to the court's delayed trial caused by legal manipulation aimed at 'making Lee Jae-myung president,'" and said, "The impeachment trial is expedited, but Lee Jae-myung's trial is indefinitely delayed, effectively mocking the rule of law, which should be applied equally to all citizens."

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He continued, "The reason for the reckless move to remove treason from the grounds for impeachment despite public criticism is clear," and claimed, "They want to finish the impeachment trial as soon as possible and hold an early presidential election before the results of Lee Jae-myung's trial come out."

Ahn emphasized, "If the Republic of Korea is a country where the constitution and the rule of law function properly, and if we are a proud advanced liberal democracy, then naturally, the appeal trials of Lee Jae-myung for violations of the Public Official Election Act must be sentenced on February 15, within three months for the second trial, according to the 6, 3, 3 principle (first trial, second trial, third trial period) stipulated by law, and the Supreme Court's final ruling must be delivered within three months on May 15."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News

He also pointed out, "Lee has already been sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence in the first trial for violating the Public Official Election Act, and if this sentence is confirmed as is, he will be unable to run for public office for seven years," and said, "It is still unknown whether an early presidential election will be held, but in liberal democracy, the most important election requires voters to choose with full knowledge of all information about the candidates. Especially, it is unacceptable for voters to elect a president without knowing whether the candidate is guilty or innocent of a crime."

He added, "Holding a presidential election before the candidate's final Supreme Court ruling will greatly distort the election results," and expressed concern, "If the election is held before the trial results come out, Lee Jae-myung will inevitably face qualification disputes, and even after the election, the country will fall into severe chaos due to election contestation and legitimacy controversies." He continued, "Fortunately, the appeal trial court for Lee's Public Official Election Act case reportedly will not take on any new cases for the next two months. This is a welcome measure to speed up the trial," and said, "In the unprecedented total national emergency, we must thoroughly base ourselves on the constitution and the rule of law and realize the constitutional spirit that all citizens are equal before the law to unify the people and overcome the national crisis."

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