South Korean opposition leader cleared of forcing witness to commit perjury

SEOUL - South Korea's main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was cleared on Monday of charges that he forced a witness to commit perjury, the Seoul Central District Court said, in the latest of a series of legal cases that could threaten his political future.

Lee thanked the court for "bringing back truth and justice" after the ruling as his supporters cheered.

He had been accused of ordering a witness in a 2019 trial related to an election law violation to give false testimony.

Lee, the leader of the Democratic Party, still faces several other trials including for bribery and other charges mostly tied to a $1 billion property development scandal.

On November 15, a court convicted Lee of violating the election law, handing him a one-year prison term suspended for two years, a penalty that if upheld could jeopardize his bid to run for president in 2027. Lee said that he would appeal.

Last week, Lee was also indicted on charges that he used more than 100 million won ($71,900) of public funds for personal purposes when he was a governor.

Lee, who narrowly lost to President Yoon Suk Yeol in the 2022 election and is widely expected to seek to run again, has said there was no basis for the indictment and described other charges against him as "political retaliation".

Any final prison sentence or a fine of 1 million won ($714.13) or more in an election law violation case would strip him of his seat in parliament and his right to run in any elections for the next five years. REUTERS