Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, was acquitted in the first trial of perjury teacher charges.

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Agreement Department 33 (Chief Judge Kim Dong-hyun) acquitted Lee of all charges at the first trial of perjury teacher charges held on the 25th, saying, "It is difficult to say that it is beyond the level of defense." The first trial sentence on Lee's perjury teacher charge came 13 months after the prosecution indicted him in October last year.

Kim Jin-sung, secretary of the late former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang, who was also put on trial on charges of perjury, was fined 5 million won for some convictions.

The trial is about allegations that Kim gave perjury in the 2019 trial of Lee, the then governor of Gyeonggi-do Province, in violation of the Public Official Election Act (publication of false information), and that Lee taught it.

The first trial court judged, "Representative Lee seems to have requested testimony only for situations in which Kim remembers or sympathizes," adding, "This is not very different from the usual request for testimony in the way Kim remembers, so it is difficult to say that he requested perjury." "It is hard to say that Lee's confirmation of the summary of his argument is contrary to common sense or beyond the scope of his right to defend himself as a defendant in a case of violation of the Public Official Election Act," he said. "These circumstances alone cannot be considered that Lee taught perjury to Kim."

After the sentence, representative Lee said, "I would like to thank the court for restoring truth and justice," adding, "I hope we can do politics that coexist and go together, not politics that kills and steps on each other."

The prosecution expressed its intention to immediately appeal the sentence of the first trial.

Representative Lee was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of probation in the first trial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act on the 15th, but he won "one win after one loss" as he was found not guilty.

Chairman Lee and the Democratic Party are expected to focus on the second trial of the Public Official Election Act and try to break through the remaining judicial risks.

Han Dong-hoon, head of the People's Power, said on Facebook, "It is difficult to accept the judgment that only those who perjured are guilty, and those who have perjured are not guilty."

[Reporter Park Min Gi / Reporter Kang Min Woo / Reporter Seo Dong Chul]