Sujeong Lee Faces Risk of Losing Eligibility to Run for Office... Appeals Court Also Imposes a 3 Million Won Fine Over False Post Claiming 'Lee's Sons Were Exempt From Military Service'

[Financial News]  Sujeong Lee, a People Power Party district committee chair for Suwon Jeong, was also sentenced to a fine in the appeals trial after being indicted on charges of posting a false claim on social media (SNS) that President Lee Jae Myung's two sons had been exempted from military service. If the sentence becomes final, the committee chair will be unable to run for office for five years.
Yonhap News Agency and other outlets reported on the 12th that Criminal Division 14 of the Suwon High Court (High Court Judge Heo Yang-yoon), rejected the defendant's appeal in the appeals trial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act (publication of false information and defamation of a candidate) and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation), and upheld the lower court's ruling imposing a fine of 3 million won.
Under the Public Official Election Act, a final sentence of a fine of 1 million won or more bars a person from running for office for five years from the date the sentence becomes final.
The district committee chair was indicted on suspicion of posting a false claim on the district committee chair's own Facebook account on May 28 last year, ahead of the 2025 South Korean presidential election, that the two sons of then-Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Lee Jae Myung, now president, had been exempted from military service. In fact, it was confirmed that both of President Lee's sons had fulfilled their military service obligations.
At the time, the district committee chair apologized, saying, “I shared information circulating online for about 10 seconds, then confirmed it was inaccurate and immediately deleted it,” and asked, “Please forgive me.”
The appeals court ruled, “It appears that the defendant posted the message while tacitly aware that its content might be false,” and “It is reasonable to conclude that the defendant intended to prevent then-candidate Lee Jae Myung from winning.”
The court also pointed out that the defendant had not made sufficient efforts, even though the facts could easily have been checked on the National Election Commission (NEC) website and elsewhere.
In response to the claim that the lower court's sentence was too harsh, the appeals court noted that the minimum fine for publishing false information with the aim of getting a candidate defeated under the Public Official Election Act is 5 million won. It explained its sentencing rationale, saying, “The lower court took circumstances favorable to the defendant into account and imposed a lighter sentence (below the statutory minimum).” It added, “Although the defendant deposited some funds with the court for the victims, there appear to be no grounds to change the lower court's ruling in light of the legislative purpose of the Public Official Election Act and the circumstances and details of this case.”
Earlier, the trial court had also found intent, saying, “Given the defendant's education, social standing and career, the defendant could have anticipated the impact of posting on a Facebook account and had time to check the source.” It sentenced the defendant to a fine of 3 million won, less than the 5 million won fine sought by prosecutors. 
After the verdict that day, the district committee chair told reporters, “There is no doubt that my understanding was unclear when I posted the message; after deleting it, I apologized on three separate occasions,” adding, “Even so, the ruling is disappointing.” The chair added, “I will discuss with my lawyer whether to appeal to the Supreme Court.”
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter