Lee Jae-myung's trial delay

[Anchor]

Yes, it seems DP leader Lee Jae-myung is preparing for an early presidential election, but the so-called judicial risk remains a variable.

The court's first ruling on the allegation of violating the Public Official Election Act during the last presidential election process was a guilty verdict with a sentence of one year in prison and a two-year probation.

The first trial viewed Lee's statements that he did not play golf overseas with the late Kim Moon-ki, who was a practical worker in the Daejang-dong project, and his statement during the National Assembly's audit that there was "intimidation from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport" regarding the change of use for the Baekhyeon-dong site as false facts.

If this ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court, Lee will be ineligible to run in the next presidential election.

The court in charge of the appeal, which will be a gauge for this, announced today (1.23) during the first trial that it will hold a decision hearing on Feb. 26.

There are predictions that a ruling could be made in March.

Reporter Shin Hyun-wook.

[Report]

The first appeals trial for Lee Jae-myung’s Public Official Election Act violation case was held today.

It has been 69 days since the first trial ruling.

[Lee Jae-myung/Democratic Party Leader: "(What do you think about the criticism of trial delays?) ..."]

In today's hearing, there was a back-and-forth over the responsibility for the trial delays.

The prosecution argued that Lee's side requested the submission of documents to 10 institutions along with the testimony of 13 witnesses, suggesting that it seemed like they wanted to start the first trial anew.

Lee's side claimed that it was the prosecution that changed the indictment at the end of the first trial and argued that a disqualification sentence in a violation of the Public Official Election Act should be judged carefully.

According to the mandatory provisions of the Public Official Election Act, the first trial for election offenders must be completed within six months, and the second and third trials must be completed within three months each.

According to this regulation, Lee's second trial must be completed before Feb. 15, and the Supreme Court ruling must be made before May 15.

The court decided to focus on the hearing of Lee's case without assigning new cases until Mar. 12.

Seemingly conscious of the 'trial delay controversy,' the court stated that there should be no concerns about delays in the lawsuit and could not definitively say whether all witnesses could be accepted.

The court plans to hold hearings every Wednesday starting next month.

They will finish the witness examination by Feb. 12 and 19, and if there are no special circumstances, they will proceed with the decision hearing on Feb. 26.

Considering that a ruling date is usually set one month after the decision hearing, there are prospects that the appeal ruling could be made as early as the end of March.

KBS News, Shin Hyun-wook.