South Korean opposition leader acquitted of election law violations

South Korean opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, was acquitted of election law violations by an appeals court on Wednesday, solidifying his position as a leading contender in the upcoming presidential election.

The Seoul High Court overturned a lower court ruling, stating that Lee, the head of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, had not made false statements during the 2022 presidential campaign.

Last November, the Seoul Central District Court had sentenced Lee to a one-year prison term, suspended for two years, on charges of disseminating false information during the election.

Prosecutors had sought a two-year jail sentence for Lee.

Had Lee received a fine exceeding one million won (around $680), he would have lost his parliamentary seat and been barred from running in future elections for ten years.

The case, based on alleged election law violations, would have been confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 election to President Yoon Suk-yeol, is seen as the strongest challenger for the next presidential race.

Recent polls indicated that 49.6 per cent of voters would support the Democratic Party’s candidate, while only 29.5 per cent favored the ruling People Power Party’s candidate.

Lee remained the Democratic Party’s most popular presidential candidate, with an 85.5 per cent support rate, according to a poll conducted from March 17-20.

In spite of the legal victory, protests erupted near the court, with both supporters and critics of Lee shouting opposing slogans.

Lee had been indicted in 2022 for comments he made during a media interview in December 2021, when he was the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

Prosecutors accused Lee of lying to voters about his involvement in a land development corruption case, but Lee denied the allegations, maintaining he did not recall a senior official involved in the case.