The Supreme Court has sent back an election law violation case to a lower court, finding fault with a March ruling that acquitted former Democratic Party Chief Lee Jae-myung of lying as a presidential candidate during the 2022 election campaign.

The top court on Thursday overturned the Seoul High Court’s ruling in March, deciding that Lee made false statements in violation of the Public Official Election Act. 

[Sound bite: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Jo Hee-de (Korean-English)]
"In conclusion, the majority opinion of the Supreme Court is that the defendant's statements about golf in relation to Kim Moon-ki, as well as the statements regarding Baekhyeon-dong, constitute the crime of dissemination of false information under Article 250, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act."

With the court’s ruling, Lee will have to stand trial again at the Seoul High Court, which is likely to render a guilty verdict as it is bound by the intent of the top court’s ruling.

Lee has been indicted for lying during a media interview in December 2021 that he did not play golf with the late Kim Moon-ki, a former executive of Seongnam Development Corp., involved in a controversial development project in Seongnam, south of Seoul, when Lee served as its mayor.

Lee also faces charges of making false statements during a parliamentary audit of the Gyeonggi provincial government in October 2021, claiming that he was pressed by the land ministry to rezone the former site of the Korea Food Research Institute in Seongnam.

The High Court is expected to decide a new sentence for Lee after related deliberations. 

The Seoul Central District Court handed down a one-year suspended prison term for Lee in November 2024. 

The Supreme Court appears to have accelerated the proceedings for Lee’s case, considering the impact a guilty verdict may have on Lee's presidential bid, ahead of the June 3 snap elections.

As the case heads back to the High Court in the midst of Lee’s  campaign in the race, he will likely face questions over his eligibility to run for the presidential office.

If Lee ultimately receives a fine of one million won or about seven-hundred U.S. dollars or more for election law violations, he would be restricted from running for office for five years.