Lee tries to make the point that if there was election fraud how did Yoon win the last Presidential election? The argument from the Korean right is that election fraud occurred in the follow on Korean National Assembly elections because Yoon won the Presidency. This fraud allowed the Korean left to impeach government officials at will to stop Yoon’s agenda which ultimately led to Yoon’s failed martial law attempt:
Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday hit out at former President Yoon Suk Yeol for attending the screening of a documentary film on alleged election fraud.
Yoon, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid and is standing criminal trial on insurrection charges, has claimed that allegations of election fraud were one of the reasons why he declared the martial law decree.
Yoon, who left the conservative People Power Party (PPP) last week, made the first public appearance since his ouster on April 4, excluding his appearances at the insurrection trial, with the presidential election less than two weeks away.
“Did he not win his own election through that system?” Lee told reporters during a campaign rally in Incheon, questioning the logic behind claiming election fraud.
You can read more at the link.
What exactly did this military agreement achieve that makes it worth restoring?:
South Korea’s leading presidential candidate has pledged to restore a military deconfliction agreement with the North if elected, aiming to reduce rising tension on the Korean Peninsula. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, said the Comprehensive Military Agreement signed on Sept. 19, 2018, should be reinstated. The deal was effectively scrapped by both countries last year. “We urgently need to ease military tensions and restore trust between the two Koreas,” he said in a recent news release.
You can read more at the link.
It seems this could lead to a Constitutional crisis if Lee is convicted after he is President:
The Seoul High Court on Wednesday postponed the first hearing of Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung’s retrial on election law violation charges until after the June 3 presidential election, citing the need to guarantee his right to a fair trial.
The court said it postponed the hearing from May 15 to June 18 “in order to guarantee a fair electioneering opportunity to the defendant, who is a presidential candidate, and eliminate controversies about the fairness of the trial.”
You can read more at the link.
Here is the latest on leading Korean Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung’s legal problems:
An appellate court will hold the first hearing of a retrial in an election law violation case involving Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on May 15, just weeks before the June election.
The Seoul High Court set the date just one day after the Supreme Court struck down the lower court’s acquittal of Lee on charges of election law violation in March and remanded the case for a retrial.
It appears regardless of what happens Lee will be able to run for President. What is not clear is if the trial can continue while he is President and what happens if he is convicted:
The appeals court said it has requested a court official to directly deliver a summons to Lee to attend the hearing.
If Lee does not appear at the hearing, the court would need to reschedule the trial, making it unlikely that a verdict will be delivered before June 3.
Even if Lee is sentenced before the election, he would likely appeal it, which would enable him to run in the race.
There is currently no clear rule on whether a criminal trial in progress may continue if the indicted individual is later elected president.
Earlier in the day, the DP proposed a bill that suspends an ongoing criminal trial for a president-elect, which is seen as a move to mitigate legal risks surrounding Lee.
You can read more at the link.
Out of all the shady things that Lee Jae-myung is under investigation for lying to the media could be what brings him down:
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a lower court’s acquittal of Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on charges of election law violation, sending the case back to the appeals court.
In a televised decision, the top court overturned the Seoul High Court’s verdict in March, which acquitted Lee of lying as a presidential candidate during the 2022 election campaign.
The Supreme Court’s ruling came about a month before the country will hold the June 3 presidential election. The case has drawn intense attention due to the possibility that the top court’s decision could affect his eligibility to run for office.
What is interesting about the verdict is that it was an overwhelming decision. 10 of the 12 justices agreed that the appeals court was wrong to overturn the conviction. You would think a Supreme Court ruling would reimpose the verdict that the appeals court nullified. However, according to the Korea Times his case has to be retried:
The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned an appellate court’s decision to acquit Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of his election law violation charges, sending the case back to the high court for a retrial.
The ruling does not immediately disqualify Lee as a candidate in the upcoming June 3 presidential election, as the retrial verdict is unlikely to be reached before Election Day. However, the Supreme Court’s ruling — which found that the appellate court misinterpreted parts of the law, effectively implying Lee’s guilt on some charges — is expected to reignite political debate over his suitability as a candidate, with less than five weeks remaining before the election.
Under the relevant law, anyone fined 1 million won ($699.30) or more for violating the nation’s election law is barred from running for public office for the next five years or up to 10 years if sentenced to imprisonment.
The case centers on two controversial remarks made by Lee during his previous presidential campaign in 2021. Prosecutors charged him with violating the Public Official Election Act for allegedly making false statements regarding land development projects in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which took place while he was mayor of the city.
You can read more at the link, but it is going to be interesting to see how this ruling impacts Korea Presidential election which Lee is the current favorite to win.
Anyone surprised by this news that Lee Jae-myung now that he is favored to win the Presidency is now no longer interested in limiting Presidential powers?:
The People Power Party on Monday backed National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik’s proposal to hold a referendum on amending the Constitution to reduce the president’s power on the same day as the early presidential election, highly likely slated for June 3.
Rep. Kwon Young-se, the People Power party’s leader, said the public consensus on reforming the country’s power structure was ripe in the wake of the impeachment crisis.
“We have witnessed the risks of a president having all the powers of the state,” Kwon said, alluding to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s imposition of martial law in December last year.
But Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party chair remains convinced that the Yoon’s “insurrection” is still ongoing, and countering it should take priority.
Lee, who has a clear lead in the polls for to be the next president, said that while amending the Constitution and developing democracy were important, “putting an end to Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection should come first.”
“I think we all recognize the necessity of having a revised Constitution. But right now, nothing takes precedence over the task of stopping Yoon’s bid to destroy democracy,” Lee said.
This has to be the lamest excuse that Lee could come up with because Yoon has had no power for months and was officially removed from office last week. There is no more Yoon to oppose.
We all know the real reason that Lee now is uninterested in limitiing Presidential powers now that Yoon is gone:
A People Power Party lawmaker on the Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Democratic Party, thinking it has a better chance at winning the coming election, might be less willing to accept a constitutional amendment that would take away some of the president’s powers.
“Lee Jae-myung himself has spoken on the need for constitutional reform several times in the past. But now with the presidency in sight, he would be less willing to embrace a reform plan that could limit his powers if he is elected,” he said.
You can read more at the link.
Appeasement of North Korea is what one analyst expects and the Korean left’s track record on this issue shows this will likely come true:
Sung-Yoon Lee, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., said Yoon’s removal “virtually enthrones” Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung as the likely next president. Lee, who has not formally announced a run for the presidency, faced Yoon in the 2022 election.
In December, he famously scaled a wall at the National Assembly to block Yoon’s martial law decree. Yoon defended his decision, accusing the Democrats of obstructing legislation and conducting politically motivated investigations of government appointees. “If Lee Jae-myung or another [Democratic Party] politician takes power, we can anticipate big changes — mostly for the worse for South Korea’s national security and its alliance with the U.S., based on the ignoble record on North Korea policy …,” Sung-Yoon Lee told Stars and Stripes by email Friday. (…..)
“Politicians are prone to switching colors on various issues,” Sung-Yoon Lee said. “But Lee Jae-myung and his fellow lawmakers are united and unswerving when it comes to appeasing Kim …”
You can read more at the link.
