▲ Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's Innovation Policy Research Institute
Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's Innovation Policy Research Institute, stated that President Lee Jae-myung's violation of the Public Official Election Act is a case that should head toward "dismissal of indictment" through a legal revision rather than a "withdrawal of indictment."
Making the remarks on Facebook today, Director Cho said, "Let us pass the amendment to the Public Official Election Act regarding the crime of publishing false information, which has been referred to the plenary session by the resolution of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee."
The bill mentioned by Director Cho refers to an amendment to the Public Official Election Act that removes "acts" from the requirements for the crime of publishing false information.
Director Cho noted, "Once this bill passes, it will sequentially affect both the ongoing case involving Yoon Suk Yeol and the case involving Lee Jae-myung that will proceed after his term ends," adding, "In the order of Yoon Suk Yeol and Lee Jae-myung, the path to a 'ruling of dismissal of the indictment' opens for both cases."
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was put on trial on charges of publishing false information in connection with remarks regarding figures such as Geonjin Beopsa during the 20th presidential election, was sentenced in the first trial to one year and six months in prison with a three-year probation, a sentence that would invalidate his election.
President Lee Jae-myung was indicted on charges of publishing false information, such as stating during a broadcast interview when he was a presidential candidate that he did not know the late Kim Moon-ki, the former Development Division 1 Chief at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation who was involved in the Daejang-dong development project.
The second appellate court acquitted President Lee, ruling that his remarks at the time were merely an "awareness" or "expression of opinion" and could not be punished. However, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the Seoul High Court with a guilty-intent ruling, stating that based on the overall impression the remarks give to voters, it does amount to the publication of false information.
Director Cho pointed out, "The ruling (against former President Yoon) was made in accordance with the legal doctrine of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Cho Hee-de regarding its guilty-intent remand ruling for candidate Lee Jae-myung, and the appellate court that will resume the second trial after President Lee's term ends must follow this doctrine."
He continued, "'Acts' (as a requirement for the crime of publishing false information) were added during the 2000 revision of the Public Official Election Act," arguing, "Because this is a very comprehensive and vague concept compared to other categories subject to false information (such as birthplace, family background, status, and occupation), and allows for the punishment of all manner of words and attitudes, it has been criticized for causing arbitrary law enforcement."
At the same time, he emphasized, "Revising the law to return the crime of publishing false information to how it was before 2000 is not a matter of progressive versus conservative or left versus right," adding, "I politely ask the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party to proceed with a plenary vote on the Public Official Election Act amendment that has been resting in a cabinet for about a year and a half."
(Photo provided by the Rebuilding Korea Party, Yonhap News)
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