Prosecutors set to request sentencing for opposition leader over alleged perjury subornation

Prosecutors were set to request a sentence Monday for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on charges of suborning a former mayoral secretary to make false court testimony in his favor in 2018.

Lee, chair of the main opposition Democratic Party, was indicted last year on charges of demanding a secretary of former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang to give false testimony in a 2018 election law violation case involving him.

The Seoul Central District Court was scheduled to hold the closing hearing on the perjury subornation case in the afternoon, with prosecutors announcing their sentencing request and Lee and his defense team delivering their final statements.

The court is expected to issue its verdict in late October at the earliest.

The case involves Lee's conviction in 2004 for illegally impersonating a prosecutor in collusion with a TV news producer who was gathering information on then Seongnam Mayor Kim in connection with a preferential apartment distribution scandal. Lee was fined 1.5 million won ($1,145) in the case.

During a 2018 TV debate while running for Gyeonggi governor, he claimed the case was based on false accusations. He was later charged with making false statements during the election but was finally acquitted in 2020.

Last year, prosecutors charged Lee with urging a secretary of the former Seongnam mayor through telephone calls to testify in his favor during the ongoing court trial in December 2018 on election falsehood. Prosecutors suspect the secretary's subsequent testimony, aligned with Lee's request, led to his acquittal by the Supreme Court.

Lee has consistently denied the charges, accusing prosecutors of false indictment, even though the secretary, charged with perjury, largely admitted to having falsely testified at his request.

If Lee receives a finalized jail sentence or a harsher penalty in this case, he would be barred from running for public office while the sentence is in effect.

The case is one of four trials Lee is currently facing in connection with various charges, including bribery and election falsehood related to a high-profile property development corruption scandal.

Earlier this month, prosecutors demanded a two-year prison term for Lee in an election falsehood case, a sentence, if finalized, that would strip him of his parliamentary seat and suspend his rights to run for public office for the next five years.

Sentencing in that case is scheduled for Nov. 15. (Yonhap)