Appeal win helps South Korea opposition leader clear presidency hurdle

By Joyce Lee and Hyunsu Yim

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean appeals court held on Wednesday that main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was not guilty of violating the election law, reversing a lower court's ruling and removing a possible block in his path to run for president.

The court cases have shone a spotlight on Lee, whom opinion polls show to be the frontrunner to replace President Yoon Suk yeol if the embattled leader's impeachment is upheld by a constitutional court, despite legal challenges of his own.

The Seoul High Court reversed a ruling that held Lee guilty of making a false claim in 2021 during a parliamentary audit of a land development project in the city of Seongnam, where he served as mayor.

"It is truly outrageous that all this energy and national resources were spent for what is an obvious outcome," Lee said after Wednesday's High Court ruling, adding that it completely vindicated him and proved the case was politically motivated.

If upheld, last year's ruling by the Seoul Central District Court, which handed Lee a one-year prison term suspended for two years, would have jeopardised his bid to run in the next presidential election.

Later on Wednesday, prosecutors vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court against the new ruling, however.

The ruling misinterpreted the law and was "inconsistent with the rules of experience and common sense," the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office added in a statement.

South Korea will hold a snap election within 60 days if the Constitutional Court upholds the impeachment of Yoon over his short-lived declaration of martial law in December.

In addition to the election law violation case, Lee faces several trials on matters ranging from bribery to charges mostly linked to a $1-billion property development scandal.

Lawmakers with finalised convictions of violating the election law and fined a million won ($682) or more, or even given a suspended sentence, are barred from contesting elections for at least five years and stripped of their parliament seats.

Lee, 61, lost by the slimmest margin in history when he ran against Yoon in the 2022 presidential election.

In 2024, Lee survived a knife attack and underwent surgery when he was stabbed in the neck by a man during an event.

($1=1,466.4500 won)

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Joyce Lee; Editing by Ed Davies and Clarence Fernandez)