South Korea Supreme Court Upholds Election-Law Conviction for False Claims About Lee Jae-myung
The Supreme Court of Korea has affirmed a lower court’s conviction in a case linked to election-law violations surrounding false claims about President Lee Jae-myung. On March 12, the Supreme Court’s Third Criminal Division rejected the defendant’s appeal, upholding a sentence of one year in prison, suspended for two years, for violating the Public Official Election Act.
The case centers on a press conference held in October 2021, ahead of the 20th presidential election, in which attorney Jang Young-ha asserted that during President Lee’s tenure as mayor of Seongnam, associates tied to a so-called “International Mafia faction” received roughly 200 million won in business favors. The statements were presented as fact at the time of the media event.
Jang Young-ha was acting as the lawyer for Park Cheol-min, described in court materials as a member of the violent group connected to the “International Mafia faction” in Seongnam. Park has been cited as a reference point for the allegations against the president in the press conference.
A key element of the dispute involved a photo showing a bundle of cash that was presented by former lawmaker Kim Yong-pan during a National Assembly inspection. The photo later emerged as unrelated to President Lee, and it was traced to Park Cheol-min’s 2018 social media post, undermining the core claim of the press conference.
The Democratic Party filed a complaint saying the president’s honor was damaged, while prosecutors chose not to indict. The party pursued a reconsideration, and the Seoul High Court, in April 2023, partially allowed it, enabling the prosecution to proceed to a criminal trial.
In the first trial, held in January of the previous year, the court acquitted Jang, finding insufficient evidence that he knew the statements were false. The appellate court later reversed, convicting him, ruling that given the timing and context, the claims could have been false and that he published them without adequate corroborating evidence. It also noted that he relied on photos and Park Cheol-min’s statements rather than independent, verifiable material, and that the press conference occurred just days after questions about the cash photo had arisen.
On March 12, the Supreme Court confirmed the appellate ruling, finalizing the conviction and the suspended prison sentence. The decision underscores how Korean courts treat election-related misinformation spread by public figures and legal professionals, and it closes a high-profile case that intersected politics, media, and the law.
Why this matters beyond Korea for U.S. readers: South Korea is a major U.S. ally and a leading economy in the region, with significant ties in technology, manufacturing, and security coordination. The ruling signals that South Korea places strong emphasis on accountability for false statements about public figures tied to elections, including by legal professionals. It highlights broader concerns about misinformation, the standards for proving intent to deceive in election-law cases, and the potential consequences for reputations and political discourse. For U.S. readers, the case illustrates how adversaries and opponents may attempt to influence elections overseas, the legal thresholds used to address such claims, and the ongoing relevance of transparency and verification in political communications that can affect markets, policy, and alliance dynamics.