Lawyer Kwon Oh-yong being interviewed at the entrance of the Seoul Southern District Court on the morning of the 13th. [Photo courtesy of Hwang Jin-moo, CEO of SeonGuZa Broadcasting]

“Despite the fact that Lee Jae-myung’s illegal acts, as president-elect, are far more serious, he is not even being tried, while the police aggressively investigate and prosecutors indict relatively minor presidential candidates. This violates the constitutional principle of equality.”

Speaking in an interview after the trial of independent candidate Song Jin-ho, who ran in the June 3 presidential election, at the Seoul Southern District Court on the morning of the 13th, lawyer Kwon Oh-yong criticized, “The retrial of Lee Jae-myung’s public official election law violation case, which is relatively more serious and was sent back for retrial with a guilty verdict, is not being held.”

Candidate Song, who ran in the early June 3 presidential election (the 21st presidential election) last year, filed a lawsuit on July 7 to invalidate Lee Jae-myung’s election, arguing that “Lee Jae-myung’s presidential election is invalid.” He subsequently filed for an injunction to suspend the president’s duties and was raided by the police about a week later.

Previously, the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission had reported Song to the police for allegedly violating the Public Official Election Act by using an office and vehicle not reported to the commission in May of last year.

The defense team had intended to apply for a jury trial in this case but reportedly converted it to a general trial upon the court’s recommendation.

Lawyer Kwon Oh-yong, representing Song, explained the background of the trial, stating, “The trial was held on charges that the Election Commission accused Mr. Song of operating an illegal office due to reasons such as delays in reporting the attachment of promotional materials to his vehicle and his intention to use his own office as an election campaign office.”

He expressed his opinion, saying, “It is extremely unfair and wrong for a large number of investigators to aggressively investigate relatively minor violations compared to Lee Jae-myung. The National Police Agency and police stations jointly raided Mr. Song’s office and confiscated over 10,000 pages of documents. Relatively speaking, I believe Mr. Song is in a position of extreme political oppression.”

He then raised concerns about the unclear aspects of the Election Commission’s reporting process.

Lawyer Kwon pointed out, “The complaint was filed under the name of the Election Commission, and when I asked the relevant employee, they could not definitively testify whether there had been a commission resolution. If the complaint was filed under the commission’s name without a resolution, that itself could be considered document forgery.”

Furthermore, he stated, “During the investigation process, an organization called the ‘Fair Election Support Group’ emerged. I understand that the members of the Fair Election Support Group are not public officials, and they provide information after conducting investigations.”

He particularly questioned the impartiality of the system, saying, “This organization is known to be primarily composed of left-leaning individuals, and there are suspicions of involvement in election fraud. Is it not biased that this organization provides information, the Election Commission uses it for reporting, and the police investigate? The election law itself is highly restrictive, and if the authorities selectively investigate one side and exercise state power based on minor flaws, it is as if the citizens have no political freedom.”

Lawyer Kwon stated, “By the court not retrying the case sent back for retrial with a guilty verdict by the Supreme Court, that person (Lee Jae-myung) is allowed to fully carry out his presidential duties. The president, who the people cannot legitimately recognize, has caused international embarrassment by posting on social media regarding Israel, endangering relations with allies, in addition to his handling of national finance, politics, economy, and military affairs. The nation’s administration proceeding in this manner is ultimately the judiciary’s responsibility.”

He then directly urged the judiciary to resume the trial of Lee Jae-myung promptly, saying, “The judiciary must achieve justice through fair and impartial trials. If individuals who are not just gain immense power in the state while punishing the weak, the citizens will become extremely anxious.”