Lee Jae-myung is on the verge of depriving him of his right to vote...judicial risk at its peak

[Anchor]
Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, was sentenced to probation of imprisonment in the first trial for violating the Public Official Election Act.

If the result of the sentence is confirmed as it is, it will inevitably affect CEO Lee's presidential bid.

For more information, I will connect with a reporter from the legal team of the Ministry of Social Affairs and point it out. Reporter Kim Dahyun!

[Reporter]
Yes, it's in the Seoul Central District Court.

[Anchor]
First, let's summarize the grounds for the judgment of the court.

[Reporter]
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party, to one year in prison and two years of probation for violating the Public Official Election Act.

He was found guilty of saying that he had never played golf with the late Kim Moon-ki, a key practitioner in the Daejang-dong development project, and that he changed the use of Baekhyun-dong due to threats from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The court said the crime was committed under the pretext of an explanation of the suspicion at a time when the allegations raised against representative Lee were of public interest,
He used
broadcasting as a medium and rebuked him for being guilty, saying it had a great ripple effect.

However, the fact that he was not elected in the last presidential election was considered as an advantageous situation.

Reporter Kim Chul-hee organized the details into a report.

During the trial, CEO Lee claimed that he did not know the late Kim Moon-ki when he was the mayor, and that the remarks related to Baekhyun-dong were "just twisted."

In the end, the first trial court accepted the prosecution's claim that CEO Lee intentionally lied to draw a line with suspicions related to Daejang-dong and Baekhyun-dong.

[Anchor]
The legal profession also predicted the sentence with a fine of around 1 million won, which is the standard for invalidating the election.

Suspension of prison sentence, some say the sentence was heavier than expected, right?

[Reporter]
Yes, that’s right.

Last month, the Supreme Court sent back the case of Jeongeup Mayor Lee Hak-soo, North Jeolla Province, which was sentenced to invalidity of election by the lower court on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, to the lower court.

Some in the legal profession said that the court strictly acknowledges the charge of publicizing false information based on "freedom of expression."

However, the first trial court in Lee's case broke expectations and sentenced him to a rather heavy sentence of probation of imprisonment.

For more information, I will check with Shin Ji-won's report.

[Anchor]
Lee has always pleaded not guilty, how did he react to the higher-than-expected sentence?

[Reporter]
Representative Lee, who had been quiet until he entered the courtroom, expressed his specific position after the sentence.

He said he would appeal the result, saying it was difficult to accept.Let's listen to



[Lee Jae-myung / Minjoo Party leader: Today's scene will also be a part of Korea's modern history. You will be appealing. It's a conclusion that's hard to accept from basic factual recognition.

On the other hand, the prosecution responded that it was a natural result.

However, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said earlier that it would review the ruling and decide whether to appeal as the sentence was a two-year prison sentence.

[Anchor]
If this ruling is confirmed, the Democratic Party should return the campaign funds it was preserved in the last presidential election, right?

[Reporter]
Yes, there are related regulations in the Public Official Election Act.

If a presidential candidate nominated by a political party is sentenced to a fine of more than 1 million won for violating the election law, all expenses that were compensated must be returned.

Lee lost in the last presidential election, but the same applies to the candidate who failed.

The related contents were organized by reporter Kim Tae-won.

The Democratic Party of Korea expressed regret over the court ruling, saying it was a political ruling in response to the Yoon Suk Yeol regime's killing of political opponents.

[Anchor]
Today, a conservative group rally was held with Lee's supporters near the court building in Seocho-dong, Seoul.

Was there any collision?

[Reporter]
During the sentence, Seocho-dong, Seoul, where the court is located, was divided in half due to the concentration of pros and cons.

There was no particular conflict within the building, but the two sides raised tensions by swearing violently at each other.

In some cases, a man was arrested for throwing shoes at CEO Lee.

This part was organized in detail by reporter Yang Dong-hoon.

[Anchor]
The first trial of CEO Lee's perjury teacher charge will be sentenced 10 days later.

Representative Lee, who was sentenced to probation of imprisonment today, seems to be burdened.

Let's summarize what the perjury teacher case is about.

[Reporter]
Representative Lee is on trial for asking Kim Jin-sung, former secretary of Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang, to give perjury in December 2018.

In the trial on charges of publicizing false information related to CEO Lee's "prosecutor impersonation case," he asked for perjury in the direction of his favor several times.

Kim, who was indicted along with Lee, admitted all charges at the trial,
The representative of
is pleading not guilty by even disclosing the relevant recordings.

In September last year, the court rejected the representative Lee's arrest warrant requested by the prosecution in connection with the case, but said that the charges of perjury teachers appear to be cleared.

In a final hearing in September, the prosecution demanded a three-year prison term, the maximum sentence under the sentencing criteria.

Representative Lee, who was put to the first test of judicial risk with today's sentence, will be put to another test in 10 days.

So far, I'm Kim Da-hyun of YTN at the Seoul Central District Court.