Supreme Court overturns Lee Jae-myung's acquittal in election law violation, sends case back to high court

We begin with a series of significant developments here on the local front.

The Supreme Court has RETURNED to the high court an election law violation case against Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung .

Our political correspondent Shin Ha-young is standing by live on the line with the latest.

Ha-young it's good to have you on.

Let's begin with details of this latest decision by the Supreme Court.

Sure, Sunny, the Supreme Court has sent the election law violation case of Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung back to the high court.

The top court was split 10 to two.

Today's ruling follows an appeal by prosecutors against a high court ruling in March that had overturned an initial guilty verdict by a local court.

In the initial verdict by Seoul Central District Court in November, Lee was convicted of making false statements during the previous presidential campaign.

These include denying ties to the late Kim Moon-ki , a key figure involved in a land development scandal in Seongnam during a media interview in 2021 and false claims that there was pressure from South Korea's land ministry to rezone a research institute site in the Baekhyeon-dong area of Seongnam.

The top court on Thursday ruled that Lee's statements, including that he did not play golf with Kim and his remarks about the Baekhyeon-dong area, are considered as spreading false information under Public Official Election Act.

And what has been Lee Jae-myung's response to this latest ruling?

Well, Lee Jae-myung did not appear in court today, as defendants are not required to be present.

He said the ruling is completely different from what he believes, adding that the will of the people is what matters most.

Lee's legal team also said that it cannot accept the ruling.

Lee will now face a retrial at the Seoul High Court.

Since the court must follow the Supreme Court's decision, he's expected to be found guilty.

The court is expected to hold a sentencing hearing to decide Lee's sentence.

Today's ruling drew much attention, as it could have affected presidential front-runner Lee's eligibility to run in the upcoming election.

With the case sent back for a retrial, his candidacy remains unaffected, since a final ruling has yet to be made.

However, if he is elected before the ruling, it could spark controversy over whether the trial should be paused during his term.

That's all I have for this hour. Back to you, Sunny.

All right Ha-young thank you for that coverage.

That was our political correspondent Shin Ha-young .