All opposition parties mobilize in response to Lee Jae-myeong’s ‘judicial risk’
The number of people signing ‘not guilty plea’ at the Innovation Council exceeds 1 million.
The party-level ‘Judicial Justice Special Committee’ was also launched.
Lee Jae-myung repeats his public claim of “innocence” through Facebook
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is entering the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 11th. / Photo = Yonhap News Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is scheduled to be sentenced in the first trial for violating the Public Official Election Act and the first trial for instigation of perjury on the 15th and 25th, respectively. , the opposition party is increasing the level of pressure on the judiciary. Representative Lee has repeatedly claimed innocence through his social networking service (SNS), and his supporters plan to submit a ‘petition calling for innocence’ with 1 million signatures to the court.
Representative Lee posted on his Facebook page on the 11th, “Lee Jae-myung repeatedly said to Kim Jin-seong, ‘Please tell me as you remember. You can say that you heard what you heard, and there is no need to say that you saw what you did not see.’ “The prosecution’s argument is that he was an instigator of perjury, and that he perjured himself in accordance with an instigation of perjury,” he wrote.
Representative Lee said, “The testimony that Jae-myung Lee needed was that the reason he promised to cancel the complaint was ‘to frame Jae-myung Lee as the main culprit,’ but Jin-seong Kim denied that he did not remember the ‘promise to cancel the complaint’, which is the most important fact claimed by Jae-myung Lee. Contrary to expectations, on the contrary, he said, ‘There was no agreement to frame him as the main culprit,'” he said. “If Lee Jae-myung had asked for perjury and promised to perjure, would Kim Jin-seong have denied the fact that Jae-myung Lee was absolutely necessary?”
He continued, “They even denied the promise to withdraw the complaint that Choi Cheol-ho testified about, and testified that the agreement was not intended to frame Lee Jae-myung as the main culprit, resulting in the impeachment of the claim that ‘the promise to withdraw the complaint was made only to Choi Cheol-ho in order to frame Lee Jae-myung as the main culprit.’ “He emphasized, “This is a testimony worse than not giving at all.”
Previously, at a decision hearing on September 30, the prosecution had requested three years in prison for Representative Lee on charges of perjury and instigation of perjury, which is the maximum under sentencing guidelines for the crime. The prosecution claimed, “Perjury is a serious crime that prevents verification of the substantive truth, disturbs judicial order, and causes social chaos,” and added, “The foundation of democracy has been fundamentally violated by repeating lies and inciting perjury to cover them up.” did it
On the 5th, CEO Lee also pleaded not guilty to the charge of instigation of perjury and posted on his Facebook page, “Lee Jae-myung has never asked for such testimony, but even if he did ask, he is a ‘failed teacher’ because he did not comply with the request. How can he be charged with instigation of perjury? ?” he wrote.
On the 1st, he submitted a defendant’s statement of 16 pages of A4 paper to the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 33 (Chief Judge Kim Dong-hyun). The defendant’s affidavit is a document in which the defendant himself states his intentions and facts.
Representative Lee’s supporters are also putting pressure on the court, saying, “Many citizens are watching the long investigation, indictment, and trial process of Representative Lee Jae-myung with their own eyes.”
The ‘Petition Calling for an Acquittal’ started on the 8th of last month by the pro-Myung faction organization The Democratic National Innovation Council reached 1 million signatures ahead of Representative Lee’s first trial sentencing. The number of signatures, which was around 200,000 by the end of last month, increased rapidly as Representative Lee’s first trial sentence approached, reaching 1 million in about 10 days. According to the Democratic Party, as of 10 a.m. on this day, the number of signatures was counted at 1,011,449.
Han Joon-ho, a top member of the Democratic Party, announced this news and wrote, “The number of signatures on the petition for Representative Lee’s acquittal has exceeded 1 million,” and “Now, the number of signatures calling for special prosecutor Kim Kun-hee has surpassed 10 million.” Lee Jae-seong, chairman of the Busan City Party, also said on Facebook, “Public anger toward the president’s perception and attitude is leading to hope,” and “I look forward to the court’s wise judgment.”
This petition included the claim that Representative Lee is a strong presidential candidate and that the indictment of Representative Lee is ‘political retaliation by mobilizing the prosecution.’ In their petition, they said, “The result of this trial is not just about an individual named ‘Lee Jae-myung,’ but it is an important decision that affects the lives of the people of the Republic of Korea, the future of the country, and the independence and freedom of the judiciary.” “It is,” he emphasized.
The Innovation Conference is also preparing a large-scale rally in front of the Seoul Central District Court on the 15th, when Representative Lee is sentenced in the first trial for violating the Public Official Election Act.
Pro-Myung faction figures outside the National Assembly also began to put pressure on the judiciary through the National Autonomy, Decentralization and Democratic Leaders’ Conference (KDLC), of which Representative Lee is a founding member. They held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Center on this day and said, “The 1,700 members of KDLC strongly urge Lee to be acquitted,” and added, “The president’s relatives will not be investigated even if they are guilty, and only the representatives of the major opposition parties will be arrested in the future.” “They are only interested in killing the presidential candidate,” he claimed.
He went on to say, “Never in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea has the leader of the main opposition party been subjected to such petty oppression. Representative Lee Jae-myung is innocent. Please stop the cunning and merciless oppression of political prosecutors.”
The Democratic Party is also responding to this representative judicial risk. On the 5th, the Democratic Party launched the Judicial Justice Special Committee, an organization dedicated to responding to Lee’s judicial risks.
Meanwhile, from December 22 to 24, 2018, Representative Lee called Kim Jin-seong, former secretary to the late Kim Byeong-ryang, former mayor of Seongnam, several times and asked him to testify perjury to the effect that he had been falsely accused in the ‘prosecutor impersonation case’ in the trial on charges of publishing false information. is accused of one thing. In the case of impersonating a prosecutor, CEO Lee was indicted on charges of impersonating a prosecutor in collaboration with a KBS PD who was covering former Mayor Kim in 2022, and was fined 1.5 million won in December 2004.
Representative Lee is also accused of giving a false answer in December 2021, when he was a presidential candidate, by saying that he did not know the late Kim Moon-ki, a key worker in the project, when he was mayor of Seongnam, in order to draw a line with the ‘suspicion of corruption in the development of Daejang-dong.’ Former Director Kim was found to have committed suicide in December 2021 during the prosecution’s investigation into Daejeon-dong, and is a controversial figure due to his relationship with CEO Lee.
Seulgi Lee, Hankyung.com reporter seulkee@hankyung.com
