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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Factbox-Legal challenges facing South Korea's incoming President Lee Jae-myung
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Koreans voted in Lee Jae-myung as their next president in the country's June 3 snap election to heal the wounds of a shock martial law declaration in December, but the liberal leader comes with his own legal baggage in the form of five different criminal trials. Democratic Party leader Lee has denied wrongdoing and while a president has immunity from most crimes, legal experts are unclear whether this applies to cases that started before they took office. Here are some aspects of the trials the president is involved in. ELECTION LAW South Korea's Supreme Court ruled in May that Lee had violated election law by publicly making "false statements" during his 2022 presidential bid, and sent the case back to an appeals court after overturning an earlier ruling clearing him. The Seoul High Court decided to schedule its reconsideration of the case for June 18, pushing back a ruling that could determine his eligibility to run until after the election. Violation of election law had been in the spotlight because if the appeals court finalises a guilty verdict in line with the Supreme Court's decision, Lee would be barred from contesting elections for at least five years. The Supreme Court ruling sparked criticism from Lee's Democratic Party, which controls parliament, leading to bills being introduced that suggested the court and its chief justice engaged in abuse of jurisdiction and interference in the presidential election. ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION This trial combines allegations of corruption such as bribery from four separate cases related to property development projects and licensing, during Lee's 2010-2018 stint as mayor of Seongnam City bordering Seoul's wealthy Gangnam district. A major portion of the trial involves Lee allegedly colluding with a group of private property developers to help them rake in money from a 1.5 trillion won ($1.08 billion) project, while inflicting losses on the city. The trial at Seoul Central District Court began in 2023 with around 200,000 pages of records submitted to the court, according to the Yonhap News Agency. A hearing planned in May was postponed to June 24, after the election. MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS, SENDING MONEY TO NORTH KOREA These two trials are ongoing at Suwon District Court, south of Seoul. In one, prosecutors alleged that Lee committed breach of trust by using public funds for personal expenses when he was governor of Gyeonggi province in 2018-2021, including parking an official car at his home and letting his wife use it regardless of the errand, plus purchases of food and payment for personal laundry with provincial funds. In another, prosecutors alleged that Lee was an accomplice in a former Gyeonggi province vice governor's involvement in handing over money to North Korea in 2018, and indicted him for violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, as well as bribery of a third party. ALLEGED SUBORNATION OF PERJURY A case is also before the Seoul High Court, in which prosecutors alleged Lee induced a witness to lie under oath in court concerning another case in 2019 in which he was cleared. A lower court had cleared Lee of the charge, before prosecutors appealed. A hearing set for May 20 was postponed, court records showed. WHAT'S NEXT? The fate of the trials is unclear. South Korea's Constitution, Article 84, says a sitting president is "not subject to criminal prosecution while in office" for most crimes. However, legal experts are divided on whether that applies to ongoing trials that were already prosecuted before a president was elected. The Democratic Party introduced to committee in May a bill which suspends ongoing trials if the defendant is elected president. However, some legal experts have noted the Constitutional Court may be asked to rule whether the bill is unconstitutional, which would increase political uncertainties. The National Court Administration under the Supreme Court gave as its opinion that judges of each court where the trials are being held will have to decide whether to stop or proceed, according to its statement to a lawmaker in May. "The court in charge of hearing the case will determine whether Article 84 of the Constitution should be applied to a criminal defendant who was elected in the presidential election," the statement said. ($1 = 1,382.6800 won)
Korea Herald
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Sale of N. Korean money investigated, police warn such transactions could be punished
Bringing North Korean money or goods into country could result in jail term South Korean police recently closed a case related to the online sale of North Korean won, noting that while this particular case went unpunished, one could be prosecuted for bringing in the currency of the hostile state. The seller posted a 2,000 won and 5,000 won bill issued by the Pyongyang government on the second-hand marketplace platform Karrot Sunday, claiming that the bills were acquired from a trade with an actual North Korean at a Chinese airport. The bills were on sale for 15,000 South Korean won ($11). According to the Jeju Provincial Police Agency, officers launched an investigation for potential violation of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, which states that unauthorized civilian trade between residents of the two Koreas is illegal. Investigators found that the seller had lied about buying the North Korean bills from a resident of the communist state, and had in fact received it as a gift from an acquaintance in China. It was discovered that the seller had not actually met a North Korean, and the police closed the case. Jeju police told local media outlets that the unauthorized import of bills or products from North Korea could be subject to legal punishment depending on the severity of the situation, even if the items were bought as simple souvenirs. Unauthorized trade of North Korean goods a grave issue here The aforementioned law on exchange between the Koreas states that the minister of unification must sign off on any contact with North Koreans or items brought in from the communist state. Violation of the law could result in a prison sentence of up to three years or a 30 million won fine. South Korea implements a strict no unauthorized contact rule on its citizens against the North, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, meaning the two sides technically remain at war. The Seoul government does not recognize Pyongyang as an official state. Its Constitution states that the territory of the Republic of Korea, the official name for South Korea, consists of the entire Korean Peninsula and attached islands. This means that according to South Korean law, residents and territory currently under rule of the North Korean government are under the South's authority, even though de-facto state-level exchange between the Koreas has occurred in past administrations. As such, most of what would be considered diplomatic dealings related to the North were primarily handled by the Unification Ministry during more amicable periods on the peninsula, with the Ministry of National defense handling military matters. North Korea is also under a series of economic sanctions from the international community due to its pursuit of ballistic missile and nuclear test programs, and its official trade with the rest of the world remains minimal. However, the US dollar is thought to be widely used in the country, due to the unstable monetary status of North Korea's finances and currency. The North Korean government set the official exchange rate between its currency and the US dollar at 105.9 won to the dollar as of 2021, according to the Ministry of Unification. Pyongyang had implemented a ratio of around 2.2 won to the dollar prior to 2003, but overhauled this in 2003 for a more realistic reflection of the two currencies. The actual market value of the North Korean won is far less; it is among the world's poorest countries and its currency is vulnerable to extreme levels of inflation. The South Korean government estimates that the actual North Korean won-to-dollar ratio has fluctuated between 8,000 won to 4,000 won 2012 and 2021, and has been hovering above 8,000 won since September of 2022.
