Court to rule on Lee tomorrow

[Anchor]

This is one of the biggest variables in the early presidential election.

The Supreme Court's ruling on the appeal of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, is just one day away.

The ruling will be broadcast live nationwide via TV and the internet.

With the unprecedentedly rapid ruling, various analyses are emerging regarding the background.

Shin Hyun-wook reports.

[Report]

The Supreme Court's ruling on the appeal of candidate Lee Jae-myung's election law case will take place tomorrow (May 1) at 3 PM in the Supreme Court's main courtroom.

It has been 34 days since the case was filed with the Supreme Court and just 9 days since it was referred to the full bench.

This full bench ruling will involve Chief Justice Jo Hee-de and 11 other justices, totaling 12 participants.

Justice Cheon Dae-yeop, who is the head of the court administration, and Justice Rho Tae-ak, who filed a recusal request as the chair of the National Election Commission, will not participate.

Last week (Apr. 22), the Supreme Court referred the case to the full bench just two hours after it was assigned, and held the first deliberation, followed by a second deliberation just two days later.

Considering that election law cases typically take an average of about 90 days to reach a ruling in the Supreme Court, this is an unusually fast pace.

It is interpreted that the conclusion of the ruling will be determined by majority vote, reflecting the Chief Justice's commitment to expedite the handling of election law cases.

There are also analyses suggesting that this reflects an intention to minimize the impact on the presidential election.

[Lee Chang-hyun/Professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Law School: "It seems that this was done to avoid causing national confusion, as it cannot be done right before the presidential election, so it was expedited."]

There is also an analysis that this rapid progress is due to the nature of the appeal, which only examines the validity of legal interpretation, unlike the first and second trials that consider facts and legal application.

[Yeo Sang-won/Lawyer/Former Supreme Court Rapporteur Judge: "The facts have already been established, and since it is ultimately a matter of legal interpretation, it seems that the proceedings have progressed quickly."]

There is no obligation for the defendant to attend the appeal, and it is reported that candidate Lee will also not be present.

This ruling will be broadcast live tomorrow through KBS and other TV networks, as well as the Supreme Court's YouTube channel.

KBS News, Shin Hyun-wook.