[News Today] DP CHAIR GETS SUSPENDED JAIL TERM

[LEAD]
Democratic Party Chair Lee Jae-myung has been convicted in his initial trial for violating the Public Official Election Act. The verdict, which could strip him of his parliamentary seat, arrived about two years and two months after his indictment.

[REPORT]
Democratic Party chair Lee Jae-myung was indicted in September 2022 on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

After being tried without arrest for two years and two months, he has been sentenced to one year in jail, suspended for two years.

The first trial found Lee guilty of making a remark in a broadcast in 2021 about late Kim Moon-ki, a key figure in the Daejang-dong land development scandal.

The court said Lee's claim that he did not play golf with Kim on an overseas business trip was false.

It also ruled that the DP leader lied at the parliamentary probe in October 2021 to win the presidential election by saying the purpose of Baekhyeon-dong land use was modified because of the land ministry's threats.

The court said it decided to issue a heavy sentence to Lee because spreading false information through influential mass media to make excuses about allegations of public interest is a grave crime.

Lee Jae-myung / Chair, Democratic Party (Nov. 15)
This will also remain in Korea's modern history. Two more trials are left, but the courts of the people, history are eternal.

If the first trial verdict is upheld by the Supreme Court, Lee will not only lose his parliamentary seat, but he will also be banned from running for office for 10 years, putting him out of the next presidential race.

Following the ruling, the DP must now return 43.4 billion won, or about 31 million U.S. dollars, in campaign funds received during the last presidential election.