Supreme Court Overturns Acquittal in 'Lee Jae Myung Election Law' Case, Remands for Guilty Verdict... Major Variable in Presidential Race (Comprehensive)

Supreme Court: "Appellate Court's Acquittal Based on Misunderstanding of Public Official Election Act on False Information"
Golf Statement Regarding Kim Moonki and Baekhyeon-dong Remarks Deemed Guilty
36 Days After Complete Acquittal in Appellate Court
Seoul High Court Must Resentence in Line with Supreme Court Decision

On May 1, the Supreme Court overturned the appellate court's acquittal of Lee Jae Myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, in his case involving violations of the Public Official Election Act, and remanded the case for a guilty verdict. This decision came nine days after the case was referred to the Supreme Court en banc, and 36 days after the appellate court's not guilty verdict. It has been three years and five months since Lee was first accused of making false statements during a broadcast interview ahead of the 20th presidential election?specifically, his claim that he did not know the late Kim Moonki, then head of Development Project Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam, and his statement during a parliamentary audit that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport pressured the city over the Baekhyeon-dong land use change allegations. With the Supreme Court overturning the appellate court's decision and remanding the case for a guilty verdict, a major variable has emerged in Lee's presidential campaign ahead of the June 3 election.

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae is preparing for the Supreme Court trial to deliver a verdict on the appeal in the case of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, accused of violating the Public Official Election Act, at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of May 1, 2025. Photo by Joint Press Corps

The Supreme Court en banc (presiding justice Park Youngjae) overturned the previous acquittal and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court at 3 p.m. on this day. The Chief Justice is Cho Hee Dae. The Supreme Court stated, "The statements regarding golf with Kim Moonki and the remarks about Baekhyeon-dong constitute the publication of false information under Article 250, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act," and added, "The appellate court misunderstood the legal principles of the Public Official Election Act." As a result, Lee will face a new trial at the Seoul High Court, which must deliver a guilty verdict in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision. In the retrial, the court is expected to determine a new sentence after additional hearings on sentencing.

First, regarding the suspicion that Lee played golf with former director Kim, the Supreme Court found that Lee's statement suggesting the "photos were manipulated" constituted the publication of false information. The court explained, "If we determine the meaning of the golf statement based on the overall impression it gives to voters, it is interpreted as 'the defendant did not play golf with Kim Moonki during their overseas business trip together,'" and continued, "Since the defendant did play golf with Kim Moonki during the overseas trip, the golf statement is a false statement regarding the candidate's actions." For other remarks related to Kim Moonki, excluding the golf statement, the court maintained the previous not guilty verdict.

Regarding the remarks about the Baekhyeon-dong land use change, the court found that Lee made a false statement by claiming that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport threatened to accuse Seongnam City officials of dereliction of duty, even though no such threat was made. The Supreme Court stated, "(Lee's statement) is a publication of fact, not merely an exaggerated expression or an abstract opinion," and added, "It is a statement about specific past facts, and its content can be proven by evidence."

The court further stated, "There was no instance in which the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport threatened the defendant or Seongnam City officials with accusations of dereliction of duty based on the obligations in this case if they did not approve the land use upgrade."

The Supreme Court explained, "The appellate court misinterpreted the meaning of the 'golf statement' regarding Kim Moonki and the 'Baekhyeon-dong statement,' and based on that misinterpretation, incorrectly determined whether the crime of publishing false information was established. The decision to acquit on these two statements was based on a misunderstanding of the legal principles of the crime of publishing false information under Article 250, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act, which affected the judgment."

The Supreme Court en banc panel for this decision consisted of 12 justices, including Chief Justice Cho Hee Dae. The en banc panel is composed of the Chief Justice (as presiding judge) and 12 justices, excluding the court administration chief who does not handle trials. In this case, Justice Noh Tae Ak, who also serves as the chair of the National Election Commission, recused himself to avoid any controversy over neutrality in election management, so the panel consisted of 12 members including the Chief Justice.

The 34th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (presiding judge Han Sungjin), which handled the first trial, sentenced Lee to one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence, which would have invalidated his election if confirmed. This sentence came 799 days after he was indicted. Under the Public Official Election Act, if a suspended prison sentence is confirmed, the individual loses their parliamentary seat and is barred from running for office for 10 years. The first trial found Lee partially guilty for his statement that he "did not know Kim Moonki." However, the court found him not guilty for saying he "did not know Kim Moonki during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam" and "only learned about Kim Moonki after being indicted." The court also found him guilty for publishing false information related to Baekhyeon-dong.

Lee Jae Myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is accused of embezzlement in the Daejangdong case and bribery related to Seongnam FC, greets his supporters as he appears at a trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on April 29, 2025. Photo by Kang Jin Hyung

The appellate court completely overturned the first trial's decision. The 6-2 panel of the Seoul High Court (presiding judges Choi Eunjeong, Lee Yesul, and Jeong Jaeo) acquitted Lee in March, 131 days after the first trial's verdict. While the first trial found Lee guilty, concluding that he made false statements with the intent to win the presidency, the appellate court examined each statement in detail and determined that none of them constituted the publication of false information. The court also considered the freedom of political expression during election campaigns. In particular, the appellate court found Lee not guilty regarding the so-called "golf statement" that he "did not play golf with Kim Moonki during the overseas trip."

Since the Seoul High Court, which must retry Lee's case, is bound by the Supreme Court's ruling, it cannot acquit him against the en banc decision. In election law cases, the criteria for invalidating an election and revoking candidacy rights is a sentence of "a fine of 1 million won or more," so the fate of "politician Lee Jae Myung" will be determined by the sentence handed down in the Seoul High Court's retrial on remand.

However, in this case, Lee can still appeal to the Supreme Court again, making it virtually impossible for a final verdict to be reached before the presidential election. As a result, Lee will have to run for president carrying the burden of a "guilty" verdict and leave the final decision to the voters.

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