Lee Jae-myung Appeal Trial Decision on March 26... Sentencing Expected as Early as March

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the first appeal trial of the public official election law violation case held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

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The sentencing hearing for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, in the case of violating the Public Official Election Act is scheduled to be held on the 26th of next month. The sentencing hearing is a procedure that concludes the trial after hearing the prosecution's sentencing opinion, the defense counsel's final argument, and the defendant's last statement. Considering that the sentencing hearing is usually followed by the sentencing date about a month later, the appellate court's verdict on the election law case could be delivered as early as March.

The Criminal Division 6-2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Lee Ye-seul, Choi Eun-jung, and Jeong Jae-o) held the first trial session on the 23rd for Lee, who was indicted on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act. The court stated, "The next session will be on February 5, during which we will conduct document examination, decide on evidence applications, and schedule witness questioning, which will be completed by the 19th. Unless there are special circumstances, the sentencing hearing will be held on February 26."

On that day, Lee, through his defense counsel, completely denied the charges. The trial lasted for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Previously, in the first trial last November, Lee was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation, which included the deprivation of his eligibility to run for office, for violating the Public Official Election Act.

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