Lee Jae-myung's 'election law' guilty Yeo Jin...25th is the first trial of "Perjury Teacher".

■ Host: Anchor Jang Won-seok, Anchor Yoon Bori
■ Starring: Attorney Kim Sung-soo

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN Newswide] when quoting.

[Anchor]
The aftermath continues when Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, was sentenced to lose his parliamentary seat in the first trial for violating the Public Official Election Act.

[Anchor]
On the 25th, the first trial of perjury teacher charges is also set to be sentenced. Let's point out the main issues of the trial with lawyer Kim Sung-soo. Hello. [Anchor] Representative Lee Jae-myung was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation for violating the Public Official Election Act, but it seems to be quick if he is accused of violating the Public Official Election Act, but it came out in two years and two months. This took a long time, right?

[Kim Sung-soo]
The Public Official Election Act has a mandatory regulation that sets the period in relation to the trial. Therefore, there are six months for the first trial and three months for appeals and appeals, respectively. In reality, it can be seen as such a rule that makes it difficult to keep the case like this six months. In this case, in particular, it seems that there are various opinions because it takes this long to reach the results of the first trial, which is two years and two months.

And I looked at the progress of the trial, which took two years and two months, and there were a lot of witness questions, and the trial preparation date was held four times before, and on September 8, 2022, a complaint was filed and prosecuted. The last date of preparation for the trial is February 2, 2023. Since it has already taken four months to prepare for the trial, there are some areas where it seems that there were many issues that took a little longer.

[Anchor]
The issues of this case can be divided into two main categories. Regarding Baekhyun-dong's change of use and former director Kim Moon-ki. You can see whether you knew former Chief Kim Moon-ki or not, but Lee Jae-myung said on the show that he did not know former Chief Kim Moon-ki when he was a presidential candidate, but this is a false fact, right?

[Kim Sung-soo]
That's right. To explain the facts in this part, December 2021 was the presidential election period. And at that time, representative Lee Jae-myung appeared as a candidate, and there were interviews on various broadcasts at that time. And at that time, there was an interview on SBS and there was also an interview on Channel A.

So, in an interview at SBS, there was a part where I said that I didn't know the late Director Kim Moon-ki when I was mayor, and in the case of Channel A broadcasting, there was a part where golf photos were a problem at the time, but this part was manipulated in relation to golf photos.

However, in this regard, there are parts that the court did not know about the late Director Kim Moon-ki or considered that the overall golf-related remarks were false. However, regarding the part that he/she did not know, the intention is that he/she will be acquitted because there is a question of whether the crime of publicizing false information can be interpreted as including the part that he/she did not know about it in Article 250 of the Public Official Election Act.

Just because it's a reason problem, it's a part where you're acquitted only for reasons. There seem to be various opinions about the interpretation of this law.

[Anchor]
The court is not guilty of this, whether or not it knows the late Chief Kim Moon-ki, but it cannot help but remember that he played golf. I found this part guilty. Representative Lee Jae-myung claims that there was a photo manipulation, but could this become an issue at a higher court later?

[Kim Sung-soo]
I think this could be an issue. I've read the explanatory material of the court, and if you look at the explanatory material of the court, I'll read the phrase accurately. This is what CEO Lee Jae-myung told Channel A at the time on December 27, 2021, Channel A Lee Jae-myung's proposal and conversation with young people.

I took a picture of four people from the People's Power and released the picture as if I was playing golf, but when I checked, some of the group photos of our group were taken off and shown like this. It was manipulated. The issue itself was how it was interpreted.

So, CEO Lee Jae-myung said that this part was intended to be manipulated, not that he did not play golf. Given the overall context and the situation at the time, the story of Representative Lee Jae-myung can be interpreted as meaning that he did not play golf abroad with Director Kim Moon-ki in the end. If you say you didn't play that golf, it is confirmed that you played golf with Director Kim Moon-ki on January 12, 2015.

Therefore, it is believed that the fact that he did not play golf despite the fact that he played golf should be convicted in the end because it is correct to announce false information about this part of the act. However, as I told you about this, I think this will be an additional issue in the appeal trial because there is a part that Lee Jae-myung's side insists that the content itself is not about not playing golf.

[Anchor]
Let's take a closer look at the second issue as well. It's about repurposing the Baekhyun-dong site. During the 2021 parliamentary audit of the National Assembly, Lee Jae-myung, the then governor of Gyeonggi-do Province, claimed that Baekhyun-dong's land use was raised due to the threat of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, but in the first trial, this was false, right?

[Kim Sung-soo]
That's right. The fact that there was a threat at the time itself became an issue. When looking at various facts at the court, there are many parts that seem to have been judged by Seongnam City itself rather than by threats. Regarding this, if representative Lee Jae-myung did this for the purpose of giving preferential treatment, there is a donation.

If you raise the floor area ratio of the land or do this, there is a concept of donation that requires you to donate to the state or local government, and if I said it was to give preferential treatment to business operators, wouldn't I have done this? That's why it was not given preferential treatment, and there were various official documents on that part and intimidation, but it also became an issue in this part because it seemed to have claimed the facts to the effect that it could be seen as intimidation. Nevertheless, the court saw that it was Seongnam City's own judgment, and if so, it could be a false announcement, so it was convicted of false announcement.

[Anchor]
The remarks related to the threat of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport came from the National Audit Office when Lee Jae-myung was governor of Gyeonggi Province at the time. So CEO Lee claims that he has immunity, what do you think of this?

[Kim Sung-soo]
According to Article 9, Paragraph 3 of the National Assembly Witness Appraisal Act, statements related to the National Assembly have immunity. Representative Lee Jae-myung's argument was that he could be exempted if this part constituted a crime because he had immunity, but the court seems to have mentioned the relevant Supreme Court precedents in this regard.

The Supreme Court has a precedent that even if there is immunity, false facts are clear or that immunity may not be recognized in special circumstances related to facts, so when looking at such an attitude, this part was convicted, and this part could eventually become a legal issue, so I think it will continue to be a dispute in the appeal trial.

[Anchor]
There is also an opinion that the ruling was heavier than expected. The Democratic Party and Chairman Lee Jae-myung have also expressed their intention to appeal. But can the first trial ruling be overturned? What is the average probability of a ruling overturned?

[Kim Sung-soo]
The difficult part to say that there is a probability is that in this case, they are arguing about the facts and the interpretation of the law. Therefore, if you look at one of these two differently from what you saw in the first trial, you can draw a different conclusion, so a different judgment does not necessarily mean that you will be acquitted, but that you can see it more seriously, and even if you are punished a little, you can see it more lightly, right?

That's why you'll have to look at the whole part, but because it came out like this in the first trial, it's hard to see it like this in the appeal trial.

[Anchor]
We told you the news of the politics earlier, but the Democratic Party is still continuing the public opinion battle. However, Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the People's Power Party, warned that the opposition party's outdoor rally is the worst reason for intimidating judges. To some extent, is there a possibility that these crimes will be reflected in the judgment?

[Kim Sung-soo]
If there was such an act of urging someone to make a judgment on a specific judgment rather than a crime of shame, this part would be a guilty sentence, which could be seen as a part of the attitude after the crime without the will to reflect, and if there is such an act, it could be an issue of aggravation.

[Anchor]
The first trial has ended, but the first trial is pending on the 25th on charges of perjury. Let's start with what this case is.

[Kim Sung-soo]
In February 2019, when Lee Jae-myung was governor of Gyeonggi-do at the time, there was a trial regarding other facts related to the crime of publicizing false information. And during the trial, there was also an issue about whether or not he impersonated a prosecutor. At this time, representative Lee Jae-myung is currently investigated and prosecuted for allegedly teaching perjury to witnesses who appeared as witnesses at the time, and the first trial has now been concluded. It is news that the prosecution has asked for three years and is waiting for the sentencing date because the decision was made in the first trial.

[Anchor]
Kim Jin-sung, the perjury party. Kim Byung-ryang was a former secretary of Seongnam Mayor. Kim Jin-sung said in court that he lied in response to Lee Jae-myung's request for a phone call. Isn't it harder for CEO Lee Jae-myung to prove his innocence?

[Kim Sung-soo]
That's right. There is a person who complains that he/she did perjury himself/herself, so if perjury is correct, there may be less room for dispute over whether it is perjury or not. Therefore, if it is premised that perjury is correct, then the part that can be considered here could be whether Lee Jae-myung taught this or not, and this could be an issue.

Therefore, the legal interpretation of whether or not to be a teacher should be viewed, and how this part and the facts are related to the facts at the time, and certain parts will be an issue. In the case of perjury, even if you admit perjury, there may be room for dispute over the interpretation of the scope of perjury, so I think it will be decided whether you are guilty or not after comprehensively judging these parts.

[Anchor]
What is the usual legal level of perjury charges?

[Kim Sung-soo]
In the case of perjury, the court is very strict. Perjury is a lie when you come to the court and examine witnesses, and this can be very important. Therefore, the criminal law stipulates up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won, but in reality, serious punishment of probation or imprisonment is made rather than fines, so if a perjury teacher is made, it can be punished in the same way as perjury. Therefore, there is room for a little serious punishment, it looks like this.

[Anchor]
On the other hand, Han Dong-hoon, the representative of the People's Power, probably remembers the inspection and completion of the inspection led by the Democratic Party in 2022. I summoned this again. The prosecution can't investigate the perjury teacher allegations at that time, but the prosecution can proceed with the contents related to the perjury teacher as it is able to investigate the prosecution's uniform that he led when he was the Minister of Justice, that is, the investigation can be conducted again. What is it specifically about?

[Kim Sung-soo]
To explain this from the prosecution's completion, such regulations were newly established in the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act to limit the scope of the prosecutor's investigation. Therefore, according to the Prosecutor's Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act at this time, there were only two types of crimes that the prosecution could investigate. There were only two crimes: corruption and economic crimes.

In this regard, the law passes through the plenary session of the National Assembly and is promulgated. In the case of the enforcement ordinance, the Ministry of Justice can change it. So, CEO Han Dong-hoon said, "By changing the Ministry of Justice's ordinance, which is the regulation on prosecutors' crimes to initiate investigations, we described in more detail what types of corruption crimes are and what types of economic crimes are, and among the contents, the prosecution was able to directly investigate these perjury teachers and crimes related to their duties, so that the prosecution could prosecute the perjury teachers like this case by conducting a direct investigation."

[Anchor]
At the same time, CEO Han Dong-hoon even mentioned the possibility of Lee's legal arrest. Even if the judiciary makes a court arrest, there is no need for a motion to arrest the National Assembly, what do you think?

[Kim Sung-soo]
I think there will be a legal issue in that regard. Since it can be seen as an unprecedented situation, we need to see how it should be judged in practice. In the case of lawmakers, they have the privilege of not arresting them. Therefore, if it is not a current offender or a special situation, it becomes a privilege of not being arrested and has the privilege of not being arrested. In the case of CEO Lee Jae-myung, an arrest warrant was requested in the past and an arrest warrant was requested.

There were applications and requests, and in order to decide whether to issue a warrant, the National Assembly votes on the arrest motion, and at that time, I asked for the approval of the arrest motion, mentioning the perjury teacher and various charges, and it was actually approved. However, the arrest warrant was not issued at the time, so there was no arrest warrant, but what representative Han Dong-hoon is saying now is that the arrest agreement was passed at the time, so if he tries to arrest him in court at the first trial, he can be arrested and arrested regardless of the lawmaker's privilege of non-arrest.

However, as I said in this regard, there is no such case, so we need to see if the court can actually apply the same to the legal arrest of the arrest agreement at the time of the arrest warrant.

[Anchor]
Since the contents related to the first trial of violation of the Public Official Election Act discussed earlier are still in the first trial, when will the decision be made if the Supreme Court decides after an appeal in the future? This is because, depending on the results, it is very important for Lee Jae-myung, whether his political life is extended or ended. When can we expect the Supreme Court's final decision?

[Kim Sung-soo]
We'll have to wait and see. In the case of the first trial, the period is inevitable, especially because if there are many witnesses in question, it can be very long because they have to go through all the interrogations.
But in the case of the appeals court and the Supreme Court, there will be a lot of legal aspects rather than a large amount of witness questioning on facts. If you say you're in a hurry, the sentence may come out quickly.

However, there are so many issues and this is an important part, so if the review is prolonged, it can be prolonged, so this part needs to be seen. The case we can see is that Lee Jae-myung was acquitted in the first trial of violating the Public Official Election Act and publishing false information at the time, but was partially convicted in the appeal trial, and the case ended in innocence again in the appeal trial.

At that time, the period was almost three months and a little before and after the first trial was sentenced, but at the time of the appeal, it was delayed by almost a year from the time of the appeal. Therefore, there are many variables in this case as well as how long it will take to appeal and how long it will take to appeal, but as in the past, it is expected that the appeal can be sentenced a little faster, and in the case of appeals, it seems that if there are many issues, it can exceed three months.

[Anchor]
I don't know how long this case will take to get to the Supreme Court.Ma was recently convicted four years after the Supreme Court indicted him in the case of former lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang. Critics point out that it is a belated judgment because the ruling came out after former lawmaker Yoon had already retired from office. How do you see this part?

[Kim Sung-soo]
As you said, this part itself was very reported and could be a problem. In the end, there is a story that delayed justice is not justice, and that's why the sentence needs to be done quickly. In this case, if this results in the term of office until the sentence ends, the election law and regulations restricting the right to run for election may be meaningless, so I think the court has no choice but to consider such special measures to proceed with the sentence a little faster.

[Anchor]
Depending on how the Supreme Court's judgment comes out, isn't it said that the political life of Chairman Lee Jae-myung, as well as the Democratic Party of Korea, should return about 43.4 billion won in election reserves? I guess there's something legally stipulated about this?

[Kim Sung-soo]
According to Article 265-2 of the Public Official Election Act, if there is a party that recommends a person who is subject to invalidation of the election, the party that recommends it will return the amount that was compensated or returned. If you look at the current article, it seems to be about 43.4 billion won, but if it's actually accepted, we'll have to see if it's actually possible because there's something we have to watch about the procedure and this, and it's still the first trial, so isn't it confirmed? I think it will be discussed again after it is confirmed.

[Anchor]
Representative Lee Jae-myung pointed out this month's violation of the trial election law and allegations of perjury teachers. Other than that, there are more trials left, right?

[Kim Sung-soo]
That's right. In addition to these two cases, haven't there been cases related to the preferential treatment of Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town? So, the first trial of the lawsuit related to that part is underway, and there is also a remittance case to North Korea related to double drops. In this case, the preparation process is still in progress, so I think it will proceed to a trial when the preparation process is completed.

[Anchor]
I see. So far, we've looked at major issues with lawyer Kim Sung-soo. Thank you.