As the court postponed the first trial of the public office election law violation case of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, until after the election, claims emerged within the party that the second trial verdict for the candidate's spouse, Kim Hye-kyung, should also be postponed until after the election. It was suggested that the scheduled verdict date for Kim's appeal on the public office election law violation, set for the 12th, should be postponed until after the 3rd.
Jeon Hyun-hee, a top member of the Democratic Party, noted on Facebook on the 10th, "The election arena should not be tilted due to political prosecution and judicial interference in the elections," adding that "The court should postpone the remaining trial dates for candidate Lee Jae-myung and the verdict date for Mrs. Kim Hye-kyung until after the election."
Earlier, Kim was indicted for providing meals worth 104,000 won to six individuals, including former and current Democratic Party lawmakers' spouses, in August 2021, ahead of the Democratic Party's presidential primary. The first trial court had sentenced her to a fine of 1.5 million won. The Suwon High Court will deliver its ruling on the appeal regarding this case on the 12th at 2 p.m.
The former top member stated, "The prosecution engaged in embarrassing and politically motivated investigations against Mrs. Kim Hye-kyung for the 100,000 won meal payment, and the court imposed a fine," adding, "Meanwhile, the allegations of stock manipulation involving Kim Keon-hee, which emerged during the last presidential election period, have yet to even lead to indictments." She further stated, "The Democratic Party will not overlook actions that undermine the voting rights of the sovereign people."
As of that day, most of Lee's major trials have been postponed until after the presidential election. The 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Lee Jae-gwon) postponed the first date for the public office election law case's remand trial from the 15th of this month to the 18th of next month. The 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Lee Jin-gwan) also postponed the next court date for the Daejang-dong, Wirye, Baekhyeon-dong, and Seongnam FC cases to June 24.
Earlier, Lee's team submitted a request to the court for a date change based on Article 11 of the public office election law, which stipulates a prohibition on the arrest and detention of a presidential candidate during their campaign period. The High Court's 7th Criminal Division stated that they would change the trial date to after the presidential election date to ensure equal opportunities for the defendant, who is the presidential candidate, in campaigning and to eliminate concerns regarding the fairness of the trial.