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| Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung |
By Kim Se-jeong
The Supreme Court's ruling on incumbent Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung's appeal against the verdicts finding him guilty of abuse of power and violating the Election Law will be livestreamed on YouTube and aired on television Thursday, court officials said Tuesday. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
The officials cited the public interest surrounding Lee and his trial for its decision to make the final court session public.
Lee is one of the most popular politicians in Korea and was considered a leading liberal candidate for the 2022 presidential election. Before being elected governor, he served for two terms as mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
During Wednesday's session, all 14 Supreme Court justices, instead of the usual four, will decide whether they agree with the high court's decision that fined him 3 million won for violating the Election Law.
Lee needs the high court verdict overturned to retain his position as governor and to run for the presidency. To overturn the verdict, he needs votes from at least eight of the Supreme Court judges. It's unusual for all of them to hear a case, but it does happen when four judges fail to reach an agreement.
The governor was indicted last December for having his older brother forcibly committed to a psychiatric care facility in 2012. He was found guilty of abuse of power and lying about it in a nationally televised debate with other election candidates in 2018, which violated the Election Law.
A lower court found him not guilty on both charges, but the high court overturned these verdicts and fined him 3 million won for violating the Election Law.
The law strips an elected public official of their position and bans them from political office for five years if a court fines them over 1 million won or sentences them to more than a year in prison.
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