Lee Soo-jung, the People Power Party constituency committee chair for Suwon Jeong, had her appeal rejected Thursday along with a fine that strips her of the right to run for public office — the result of a false social media post she made before the 21st presidential election claiming that President Lee Jae Myung's two sons had been exempted from military service.
The 14th Criminal Division of Suwon High Court, presided over by Judge Heo Yang-yun, dismissed Lee's appeal and upheld the lower court's sentence of 3 million won ($2,240) on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act — specifically spreading false information and defaming a candidate — as well as the Information and Communications Network Act for defamation.
Under the Public Official Election Act, anyone fined 1 million won or more faces a five-year ban on running for office from the date the sentence is finalized, effectively losing the right to stand as a candidate.
The appeals court found that Lee "appears to have posted the content while harboring at least a contingent awareness that it could be false," adding that "it is reasonable to conclude she had the intent to prevent candidate Lee Jae Myung from being elected."
The court also said Lee could have easily verified the accuracy of the post through the National Election Commission's website and other sources, yet failed to make sufficient effort to determine whether it was true.
Rejecting Lee's argument that the original sentence was excessively harsh, the court noted that the minimum fine under the Public Official Election Act for spreading false information with the intent to cause a candidate's defeat is 5 million won. "The lower court handed down a lighter sentence than the statutory minimum, taking into account circumstances favorable to the defendant," it said.
The court added that while Lee had made a partial criminal deposit on behalf of the victims, "there appear to be no grounds to alter the original ruling in light of the legislative purpose of the Public Official Election Act and the circumstances and substance of this case."
Speaking to reporters after the sentencing, Lee said: "There is no doubt that my awareness was unclear when I posted the content, which is why I deleted it and apologized three times. Even so, I find this ruling disappointing." She added that she would consult with her attorney on whether to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Lee was indicted on charges of posting a false claim on her Facebook account on May 28 last year — ahead of the presidential election — stating that "candidate Lee and his two sons all received military exemptions." Both of President Lee's sons have since been confirmed to have fulfilled their military service obligations.
At the time, Lee explained: "I shared information that was circulating online for about 10 seconds, then immediately deleted it after confirming it was incorrect. Please forgive me."
The trial court, however, found intent, ruling that the post posed a significant risk of impairing voters' rational judgment and that Lee had made no effort to verify the facts, and imposed the fine.
Prosecutors had sought a fine of 5 million won at the first trial.
husn7@heraldcorp.com
