Main opposition Democratic Party(DP) leader Lee Jae-myung is expected to appear in court next month for a hearing as he faces charges of violating election laws while running for president.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Thursday that the first hearing of the case will be held on March 3, with Lee’s presence in court mandatory, which is not the case for pre-trial procedures.

Lee is accused of making false statements during his presidential campaign when he denied knowing Kim Moon-ki, a late official of the Seongnam Development Corporation who handled the highly controversial Daejang-dong project.

Prosecutors, however, do not appear convinced by his denial, owing to the fact that Lee went on an overseas business trip with Kim while mayor of Seongnam in 2015.

In the upcoming hearing, former president of the Seongnam Development Corporation Hwang Moo-seong will appear as a witness. Prosecutors cited Hwang’s previous testimony on how Kim came to accompany Lee on a visit to Australia in January 2015.

The DP chief is also suspected of making false remarks during the National Assembly’s inspection of Gyeonggi Province in October 2015 on allegations that he provided preferential treatment in the process of altering the purpose of use of the land housing the Korea Food Research Institute.

Lee claimed that the province had no choice but to change the land’s zoning designation after the land ministry had requested it in accordance with the special law on relocating public agencies.