South Korea: Opposition leader faces sentencing hearing over allegedly suborning perjury this week

Seoul, Nov 24 (IANS) South Korean Opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung is set to face a sentencing hearing this week for allegedly suborning perjury, legal sources said on Sunday, 10 days after he got a suspended prison term for election violations.

According to the sources, the Seoul Central District Court is set to deliver a verdict Monday on Lee's charges of suborning a secretary of a former Seongnam mayor to make false court testimony in his favour in a 2018 election law violation case involving him, Yonhap news agency reported.

Prosecutors suspect the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party asked the secretary to testify in his favour ahead of the trial, while Lee refutes the claim, saying he only asked the secretary to testify in accordance with what he remembers.

If the court hands down a prison term, Lee would be stripped of his parliamentary seat and also barred from running for public office, including the 2027 presidential election, until the sentence is abated.

A suspended prison term would also lead to Lee losing his parliamentary seat, but he will be only barred from running until the suspended term ends, according to the election watchdog.

A fine, regardless of the amount, does not affect both the parliamentary seat and running for public office.

Monday's sentencing hearing comes 10 days after Lee was sentenced to a suspended one-year prison term for lying during the previous presidential campaign when he was a candidate, a ruling that if upheld will strip him of his parliamentary seat and bar him from running in the next presidential election.

Lee has vowed to appeal, saying he found even the "basic facts" presented at the ruling "hard to accept."

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