On the 26th, the People Power Party expressed great regret and urged the Supreme Court for a swift ruling after the leader of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, was acquitted in the second trial for violating the Public Official Election Act. There is considerable confusion within the People Power Party.
The People Power Party regarded the second trial's acquittal of Lee on election law violations as unexpected and showed a general reaction of finding it difficult to accept.
Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader, met with reporters after a local scientists' meeting in Daejeon and stated, "It is regrettable that a guilty verdict from the first trial turned into an acquittal in the appellate trial." He added, "How can the same issue result in an acquittal for Lee while many politicians lost their political lives over false declarations? Even from a legal perspective, I cannot understand that." He continued, "I hope the Supreme Court will make a judgment on whether this is false or not to put an end to the controversy,” and he expressed confidence that it will be overturned in the Supreme Court.
He also asserted that the political inclination of the judiciary influenced the second ruling. Kweon stated, "The personal inclinations of judges must have suppressed their professional conscience and were reflected in the verdict."
In particular, he found it problematic that the acquittal of Lee, who was accused of publicly declaring falsehoods about the Baekhyeon-dong development project, where he claimed that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport threatened to change the land use of the Baekhyeon-dong site, was ruled as not guilty. Kweon pointed out that "there is absolutely no evidence that the Ministry of Land had pressured or threatened Seongnam City," and he remarked that "not punishing clear falsehoods is evidence that the judiciary in South Korea is not trying cases with the conscience of the legal profession, but rather according to their political inclinations."
Kwon Young-se, chairperson of the People Power Party's emergency committee, also urged the Supreme Court for a swift ruling. He met with reporters immediately after Lee's second trial ruling and stated, "It is very regrettable," and added, "I expect that the Supreme Court will swiftly adjudicate based on the 6-3-3 principle to restore justice."
The chairperson also mentioned, "I find it difficult to understand the logic of the appellate court," and expressed belief that this could be rectified by the Supreme Court. "It needs to be corrected," he emphasized.
Shin Dong-wook, the chief spokesperson, commented, addressing the Democratic Party, "Do not expect that the public opinion will improve just because Lee was acquitted in the second trial," and pointed out that "the fact that Lee has a criminal record of four convictions and is associated with 'eight cases, twelve charges, and five trials' still remains."
Ahead of Lee's second trial ruling, the People Power Party anticipated that a ‘disqualification from candidacy’ would be maintained. Floor leader Kweon Seong-dong stated the previous day, "(Lee) has already been sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation in the first trial. Given this level of sentencing, disqualification from candidacy is expected in the appellate trial." He stressed that "(Lee) should make a public promise to accept the appellate ruling."
Lawmakers within the party could not hide their dismay. Former party leader Kim Ki-hyun stated on Facebook that "the rule of law in this country has once again collapsed in front of the master of tricks, Lee Jae-myung, and judicial justice has died," and pointed out, "It is a déjà vu of the absurd Supreme Court ruling by Kwon Soon-il, who ruled that 'though lies were told, they were not public declarations of falsehoods' in the '50 billion club' case." He added that "it is questionable how much the public can accept such absurd rulings that go against common legal knowledge and sentiment."
Meanwhile, the 6th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Choi Eun-jung) announced that, regarding Lee, "The evidence for the accusation has not reached the level of excluding reasonable doubt, resulting in a verdict of not guilty as it falls under the circumstance of not proving the criminal fact." This overturned the one-year prison sentence with a two-year probation from the first trial, which would have resulted in disqualification from candidacy. The court ruled that Lee's statements about Kim Moon-ki, former head of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and those related to Baekhyeon-dong could not be punished as false declarations.