On the 11th, it was reported that Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of President Lee Jae-myung, received the Supreme Court lawsuit documents related to the allegation of 'violation of the public official election act' on the 8th. It has been 40 days since the Supreme Court first sent the documents. Accordingly, the procedure for Kim's appeal is expected to begin in earnest.

First Lady Kim Hye-kyung of President Lee Jae-myung attends the opening ceremony of the 4th Women Entrepreneurs Week held at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 1st. /Courtesy of News1

According to the legal community, Kim's side received the notice of case record receipt sent by the court through an office worker on the 8th. The notice informs the parties that the appeal case records have been submitted to the Supreme Court.

Prior to this, the Supreme Court sent a notification for the appointment of a public defender and the lawsuit records receipt notice to Kim on the 30th after receiving the case on May 28. However, these documents were not delivered to Kim due to 'absence of a person and the door being closed.' Therefore, on the 16th of last month, the Supreme Court requested the Incheon District Court enforcement officer to deliver the relevant documents. The enforcement officer's delivery is a special delivery used when postal delivery fails. However, this was also processed as absence of a person on the 26th of last month.

Subsequently, on the 1st, Kim's side submitted a power of attorney to the Supreme Court and also submitted a delivery location and receipt recipient notification form on the 3rd. The defense team includes Kim Chil-jun, the chief attorney from Dasan Law Firm, and Kwon Yong, both of whom represented Kim since the first trial of this case. Accordingly, the Supreme Court resent the lawsuit records receipt notice on the 3rd, and the documents were finally delivered on the 8th.

Accordingly, the procedure for Kim's appeal is expected to begin soon in earnest. According to the Criminal Procedure Act, the appellant or attorney must submit the reasons for appeal within 20 days of receiving the lawsuit records receipt notice, and this marks the official start of the appeal procedure.

Kim is accused of violating the prohibition on donations under the public official election act for providing meals worth 104,000 won to three spouses of incumbent and former Democratic Party lawmakers, her driver, and six aides at a restaurant in Seoul on August 2, 2021, after President Lee, who was then the governor of Gyeonggi Province, declared his candidacy in the Democratic Party primary for the 20th presidential election.

The first trial recognized Kim's charges as guilty in November last year and imposed a fine of 1.5 million won. The second trial also dismissed the appeals filed by Kim and the prosecution in May this year, maintaining the first trial's ruling. Kim's side appealed the second trial ruling as well.

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