Opposition leader faces sentencing hearing on perjury subornation charges

Nov 25, 2024, 10:24 am

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A notice board is placed at the entrance of the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul on Nov. 24, 2024. / Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lim Sang-hyuk

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is set to face a sentencing hearing on Monday for allegedly suborning perjury, 10 days after he got a suspended prison term for election violations. Legal sources say that Lee could be sentenced to prison this time and arrested in court. Many say that Lee is likely to be arrested in court given that he has committed a “crime of obstruction of justice” and has a history of similar crimes.

According to the legal community on Sunday, the provisions on the basis of legal restraint are stipulated in the Supreme Court’s rule, Article 57 of the Regulations on the Processing of Personal Arrest Affairs. The provision requires the defendant to be arrested in court if it is deemed that there is a reason and necessity for arrest when sentenced to prison. Prior to the revision on December 31, 2020, it was said that “unless there are special circumstances, the defendant will be arrested in principle in court when sentenced to prison,” but the law was revised to determine the reasons and necessity of arrest by the court.

Nevertheless, legal experts say that Lee is likely to be arrested in court. Since Lee’s charges of suborning perjury constitutes a heavy punishment for obstruction of justice, and Lee also has a history of similar crimes, the court is likely to decide on a court arrest for fear of preventing recidivism.

Lee was fined 1.5 million won in 2002 for impersonating a prosecutor by calling by-then Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang while covering the “preferential sale of Bundang Parkview” case with former KBS producer surnamed Choi when he was a lawyer. He was also found guilty of false reporting to punish former Mayor Kim.

The weighting factors in the sentencing criteria for innocence include acceptance of economic considerations, perjury affecting the outcome of the trial, commitment of crime of the same kind, and more. Lee’s charges correspond to the commitment of crime of the same kind and obstruction of justice. For this reason, political observers say it will be difficult for Lee to avoid heavy punishment.

Last September, the prosecution also demanded a three-year prison term, the maximum of the sentencing criteria for perjury, and pointed out, “Lee has repeated the crime even though he had a similar history. Rather than reflecting on himself, he is denigrating the prosecution’s legitimate investigation.”

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