Prosecutors demand 3-yr prison term for opposition leader over alleged perjury subornation

Prosecutors demanded Monday a three-year prison term 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 (DP), 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 court will deliver the verdict on Nov. 25.

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.

The prosecution said Lee deserves a heavy punishment, given the seriousness of the alleged crime that "disrupts the judicial order and causes confusion in society."

"Perjury is a serious crime that hinders the discovery of the truth, disrupts the legal system and creates societal confusion," it said in the closing statement. "By repeatedly lying about crucial issues that significantly shape voters' rational decisions and encouraging perjury to conceal the lies, the core of democracy has been deeply undermined."

The prosecution accused Lee of "meticulously" executing his plan, just like "giving a student the answers for a perfect score."

"This approach is rarely seen in similar cases," it said.

Appearing at the Seoul Central District Court for the trial, Lee accused the prosecution of manipulating charges and evidence against him and of attempting to throttle the opposition party, saying "such violence should never be forgiven."

"Prosecutors wielding court warrants are turning the country into a dictatorship, decades after the military regimes are gone," Lee said, surrounded by senior party officials who came to the court in support of him.

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)