Case delay of 799 days violates Public Official Election Act stipulating first-instance hearing to be held within six months

[Anchor]

The Public Official Election Act case is originally stipulated by law to have a first-instance hearing within six months.

However, as mentioned earlier, this case has taken 799 days, over two years and two months.

Why has it taken so long, and how much longer will it take until a final ruling?
Reporter Lee Ho-jun reports.

[Report]

From the start of the trial preparation period to today’s (Nov. 15) ruling, there have been more than 30 hearings regarding the election law violation charges against Representative Lee.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution argued that Representative Lee's statements were clear lies, while Representative Lee claimed that the prosecution manipulated evidence and questioned the validity of the indictment itself.

[Lee Jae-myung/Democratic Party Leader/Last September: "The prosecution is abusing its power to manipulate evidence and fabricate cases, and while it is truly pitiful how hard they are trying, everything will eventually return to justice."]

With both sides presenting strong arguments, there were over 50 witnesses, including former head of the SDC development division Yoo Dong-kyu, the son of SDC Director Kim Moon-ki, and public officials from Seongnam City.

When unfavorable testimonies emerged against Representative Lee, there were intense exchanges between him and the witnesses.

The trial had been suspended for two months earlier this year when the presiding judge resigned, and delays occurred due to the political schedule of Representative Lee, the leader of the main opposition party.

The trial was repeatedly postponed due to occasions like a hunger strike lasting 24 days in August of last year, the National Assembly audit, and COVID-19 infections.

The Public Official Election Act stipulates that the first-instance hearing should be made within six months, and the second and third instance hearings within three months each, but this has not been adhered to.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae has prioritized "resolving trial delays" as a key task, and the Supreme Court sent a document to all courts in July requesting adherence to this regulation for election law cases.

If this continues, there is a possibility that the case against Representative Lee for election law violations could be finalized as early as the first half of next year.

This is KBS News, Lee Ho-jun.