A local court has acquitted Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung of charges of abuse of power and election law violations.
The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court found Lee not guilty on Thursday, citing a lack of evidence.
Lee, a former mayor of Seongnam, was accused of using his position to have city officials commit his estranged older brother to a mental institution in April 2012.
Lee was also suspected of violating the election law by lying about the case involving his brother, but the court also threw out that charge.
The lawyer-turned-politician was also acquitted of charges that he lied about an allegation that he encouraged an acquaintance to misrepresent themselves as a prosecutor and that he released false information about a development project during his time as Seongnam mayor.
Lee praised the court’s ruling, calling it confirmation that the judiciary is the last bastion of human rights and democracy.
Last month, the prosecution asked the court to sentence him to 18 months in prison for power abuse and fine him six million won for election law violations.