Lee Jae-myung, the president, is facing five criminal trials on 12 charges. Among these, the Supreme Court has previously handed down a remand decision with a guilty implication for the public election law violation case.
However, there is controversy over whether the trial can continue during the presidential term. Article 84 of the Constitution stipulates that "the president shall not be prosecuted during their term except in cases of insurrection or foreign exchange crimes." During the presidential election period, President Lee has claimed, "Trials that were already ongoing before the presidential election will all be suspended during the term." In contrast, there is also a strong counterargument that "trials already in progress will continue after the president is elected."
Regarding this, the Supreme Court has stated that "whether the trial will continue is ultimately a matter to be decided by the individual judges in charge of each case."
◇ The first trial for the remanded election law violation case is scheduled for the 18th... The testimony of witnesses is in the second trial, and the rest are in the first trial
President Lee Jae-myung is undergoing criminal trials for five cases: ▲ violation of the public election law ▲ witness coaching ▲ Daejang-dong, Baekhyeon-dong, Wirye-dong, Seongnam FC ▲ SSANGBANGWOOL's remittance to North Korea ▲ embezzlement of corporate cards in Gyeonggi Province.
The public election law violation case is currently being retried at the Seoul High Court after the Supreme Court issued a remand decision with a guilty implication. Earlier, the first trial resulted in a sentence of one year in prison with a two-year probation, and the second trial acquitted him. The Supreme Court's remand decision has upheld the previous judgment from the first trial. The first trial of the remand at the Seoul High Court is scheduled for the 18th. Initially, the date was set before the presidential election, but it has been postponed until after the election.
In the witness coaching case, President Lee was acquitted in the first trial and is now in the second trial. The first trial of this case in the second round was also originally scheduled to be held before the election but has been postponed until after the election, with no date yet set.
The Daejang-dong, Baekhyeon-dong, Wirye-dong, and Seongnam FC cases are still undergoing the first trial. The trial initially scheduled to take place before the presidential election has been postponed to the 24th.
The SSANGBANGWOOL remittance to North Korea case and the embezzlement of corporate cards in Gyeonggi Province have not yet started formal trials to determine guilt or innocence and remain in the public trial preparation process, sorting out issues and evidence.
◇ The controversy over whether to be tried during presidential tenure 'Article 84 of the Constitution'... Supreme Court "Judicial discretion"
There is ongoing controversy over whether the five ongoing trials against President Lee Jae-myung can continue during his term. This is referred to as the "Article 84 controversy."
Article 84 of the Constitution stipulates that the president shall not be subject to criminal prosecution during their term, except in cases of insurrection and foreign exchange crimes. There are conflicting opinions in the legal community regarding whether criminal prosecution refers only to indictment or also includes ongoing trials. There is no precedent for the judiciary making a legal judgment on this matter.
In response, the Supreme Court has stated, "It depends on the discretion of the judges handling each case." In a written response submitted to the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee by People Power Party member Joo Jin-woo, the Supreme Court said, "Whether to apply Article 84 of the Constitution to a criminal defendant elected as president is a matter for the judges presiding over the case to determine." It added that "there are no relevant precedents or Supreme Court rulings. It may become an issue in future trials, so responding to it is not appropriate."
◇ 'Increase in Supreme Court justices' campaign promise; Democratic Party's proposal... Legal community questions if it's an attempt to avoid judicial risks
President Lee Jae-myung has included a plan to increase the number of Supreme Court justices, currently totaling 14 including the Chief Justice, in his campaign promises. During the election period, the Democratic Party also proposed a bill to increase the number of Supreme Court justices to 100 and a bill to appoint non-lawyers as Supreme Court justices, but both were later withdrawn. However, the bill to increase the justices to 30 has been maintained.
The increase in Supreme Court justices has been discussed in the past. There have been suggestions to address the backlog of cases coming to the appeals court by increasing the number of justices.
However, there are concerns in the legal community that the push for increasing the number of Supreme Court justices coinciding with President Lee Jae-myung's election is an attempt to avoid judicial risks. After the guilty remand decision in the public election law violation case, there are voices questioning whether there is an intent to strategically appoint justices with certain inclinations to change the composition of the Supreme Court.