DP presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung welcomes retrial postponement decision

Thank you for joining us. I'm Yoon Jung-min.

The high court today decided to postpone the hearing of Democratic Party presidential hopeful Lee Jae-myung's election law violation case retrial until after the presidential election, which was seen as major legal hurdle for him ahead of the election.

Our Correspondent Shin Ha-young reports.

The first hearing for the retrial of Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's election law violation case has been rescheduled from May 15th to June 18th after the 21st presidential election.

The Seoul High Court announced on Wednesday that the postponement was to ensure the defendant has a fair opportunity to campaign and to avoid any controversy over the fairness of the trial.

The court added that it has always conducted trials independently and fairly based on the Constitution and the law, and will continue to do so.

This comes after Lee's legal team submitted a request to the court on Wednesday morning to reschedule.

The Supreme Court last week struck down a lower court's acquittal of Lee, sending the case back to the appeals court.

The party, which has been urging the high court to postpone the hearing, and Lee welcomed the court's announcement, calling it the right decision.

"This is a critical time when the people are practically exercising their sovereignty, so it's extremely important to ensure nothing hinders that process. I believe the court made a rightful and necessary decision in line with the spirit of the Constitution."

The People Power Party, on the other hand, expressed regret over the decision, with Floor Leader Kweon Seong-dong saying the court gave in to pressure from Lee's side.

The same day, the Seoul Central District Court also postponed Lee's trial related to a land development scandal one of five cases he is currently facing.

Hearings were originally scheduled for May, but the court rescheduled it for June 24th.

At the parliament, a DP-proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act has passed the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee led by members of the DP despite a boycott by the PPP members.

The amendment aims to halt legal proceedings once a defendant is elected president.

Meanwhile, Lee on Wednesday continued meeting voters across the country, this time visiting Jeollabuk-do and Chungcheongnam-do provinces.

During a visit to Jeollabuk-do, he asked for support, saying that local governments issuing more vouchers and providing basic income where people receive regular, unconditional payments would help increase the rural population.

Shin Ha-young, Arirang News.