Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Hi everyone,

Happy May! We are excited to announce that the Sejong Society is collaborating with the DC AANHPI Coalition on a networking event celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. We hope you can join us to make new connections and learn more about the different organizations. Please share with your network!

The Sejong Society of Washington DC
 

News

Court Sets DP Candidate Lee’s Trial after Election Day, Reviving His Candidacy

Alexander Eid

The Seoul High Court set the next hearing in Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung’s election law violation case for June 18, a full 15 days after the South Korean snap presidential election on June 3. The news followed the South Korean Supreme Court overturning Lee’s acquittal for election law violations on May 1, which remanded the case back to the High Court after it initially found Lee innocent. This back-and-forth caused significant disruption to South Korea’s political landscape as a guilty verdict would have barred Lee from running for president outright. However, with his trial now postponed until after election day, the DP presidential hopeful’s campaign has the green light, at least for now. 

Lee’s legal woes are numerous, but this particular affair began in November 2024 when the Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of making false statements to the public during his 2021 presidential run against Yoon Suk Yeol. The ruling divided legal experts at the time regarding whether Lee’s comments – which related to a controversial development project he oversaw as Mayor of Seongnam between 2010-2018 – violated the Public Official Election Act (POEA), a law designed to protect the public against unscrupulous politicians who would seek to manipulate their way into office unfairly.

Lee appealed the ruling, which went to the appellate level and was heard by the Seoul High Court. Anticipating that the High Court would reaffirm that of the District Court, Lee sought to delay the process as much as possible in order to buy time during former President Yoon’s impeachment trial to resolve itself and kick off a snap presidential election. However, shockingly, the High Court reversed the District Court on March 26, saying that Lee simply made statements of opinion rather than a public declaration of false facts. This appeared to clear Lee of any legal hurdles as the next level up the appeals track – the Supreme Court – rarely overturns High Court decisions. 

Prosecutors submitted an appeal anyway, and the Supreme Court took extraordinary measures to fast-track Lee’s case. Where the initial ruling at the District Court-level took 16 months, the Supreme Court’s took one, and it was not good news for Lee. The Supreme Court ruled effectively on the definition of free speech vis-a-vis the POEA, interpreting the law in such a way as to tie what constitutes a false statement to what a “reasonable voter” would believe. This is a much stricter interpretation than the High Court’s verdict, which defined false statements from the perspective of the speaker and allowed for scott-free expressions of “opinion.” Essentially, if a reasonable voter could have interpreted what a candidate said as true and it was later found out to be exaggerated, distorted, or untrue, then that would be considered a false statement under the POEA; it does not matter what the speaker believed to be true in the moment nor if it was a statement of their opinion. 

The can of worms that was Lee’s legal debacle was now reopened. The case was remanded to the High Court, which must reapply the Supreme Court’s interpretation of POEA and – in all likelihood – find Lee guilty. The state of affairs riled the entirety of South Korea’s left wing, spurring allegations of judicial interference in the electoral process. The DP said it would begin impeachment proceedings against the Supreme Court, starting with the Chief Justice and working down through the many Yoon-appointed associate justices. For a moment, in the words of The Blue Roof, South Korea faced a “total war of institutions.” 

Amid this intense pressure, the High Court delayed its reevaluation of Lee’s trial to after the June 3 election, allowing Lee the chance to win and gain the benefits of presidential immunity. While Lee’s legal troubles may not fully end should he become president, his future looks much brighter now that he has the green light to campaign. 

Han Duck-soo Launches Presidential Bid Amid Political Turmoil in South Korea

Daniel Choi

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced his resignation on May 1 to pursue the presidency in the upcoming June 3 election, positioning himself as a potential unifier for the embattled People Power Party. Han is a seasoned bureaucrat with decades of political experience, including previous terms as prime minister and ambassador to the United States. Though he lacks an electoral base, supporters argue his economic expertise and cross-administration experience make him a stabilizing force.

Han’s bid comes amid deep divisions within the People Power Party, which recently nominated former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo as its official presidential candidate. The Constitutional Court’s dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol in December and ongoing power struggles have left the party fragmented. While Kim's nomination provides a formal conservative standard-bearer, Han is still seen by some party factions as a more experienced and unifying alternative—raising questions about whether he will challenge the party line or campaign as an independent figure. Meanwhile, Democratic Party opposition leader Lee Jae-myung continues to face renewed scrutiny over revived election law violation charges, further complicating the race.

Adding to the chaos, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok—set to assume acting leadership following Han’s resignation—abruptly stepped down on May 1. His resignation followed an impeachment motion initiated by the opposition-controlled Democratic Party, widely viewed as retaliation for the Supreme Court’s decision to revisit Lee’s conviction. This leaves Education Minister Lee Ju-ho next in line as acting leader, though constitutional limits on the number of cabinet ministers may paralyze executive decision-making.

The rapid sequence of resignations, legal maneuvers, and shifting leadership underscores the unprecedented instability shaping this election. With both major parties facing internal and legal turmoil, Han’s campaign launch marks not just a personal gamble, but a high-stakes attempt to stabilize the conservative bloc in a fractured political landscape.

This Week in Korean History

On May 8, 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Dalian, marking the pair’s second meeting that year. The meeting came amid a flurry of diplomacy involving Kim, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and U.S. President Donald Trump, suggesting that Xi was interested in balancing encroaching U.S. influence on the Korean peninsula.