He was sentenced to one year for publishing false information during his campaign. He plans to appeal the verdict.
On Friday, South Korean opposition leader I Chae-myong was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years. The court found him guilty of violating the electoral law. The politician plans to appeal. If the verdict is final, Che-myong I will not be able to run in the next election. TASR reports according to the AP and Reuters agencies.
Prosecutors indicted Democratic Party leader I Chae-myong in 2022 for making false claims during the presidential campaign about two controversial development projects in the city of Seongnam, where he was mayor from 2010 to 2018.
After alleged lobbying by development companies, the city allowed construction on the land, which was supposed to be preserved as green space. Jae-myong also claims that the change in the territorial plan was demanded by the government in Seoul, which rejected these claims.
He tried to win by lying
According to prosecutors, Jae-myong I lied to the public to distance himself from controversy and increase his chances of winning the election. The court agreed with this argument and condemned the politician.
“I will appeal. If we start from the basic facts, it is a conclusion that is difficult to accept,” declared I Che-myong, who wants to bring his case to the Supreme Court. After the judgment becomes final, the opposition leader will lose his parliamentary mandate and will not be able to run for parliamentary or presidential elections in the future elections.
He faces another perjury court hearing at the end of this month. The opposition considers the lawsuits to be politically motivated.
Jae-myong also ran for president in 2022, when he narrowly lost to current president Jun Sok-yol. In 2024, he survived an assassination attempt when a man stabbed him in the neck during an event. His party then easily won the parliamentary elections in April.
