South Korea’s presidential race shaken as top court sends Lee’s case back for retrial

South Korea’s Supreme Court overturned on Thursday an earlier ruling that had cleared election front runner Lee Jae-myung of election law violation, throwing into doubt his eligibility to run for the presidency.

Lee, the candidate of the liberal Democratic Party which controls parliament, leads opinion polls to win a snap presidential election sparked by former conservative president Yoon Suk-yeol’s removal from office over his imposition of martial law.

The election law violation case against Lee had been closely watched since a ruling that removes him from the ballot could further deepen divisions in society, after months of political turmoil that has hampered efforts to steer Asia’s fourth-largest economy through the choppy waters of US tariffs.

In March, an appeal court had cleared Lee of violating the election law, but prosecutors had appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Lee is embroiled in several criminal trials, but the election law case was in the spotlight because if the Supreme Court overturned Lee’s not guilty verdict and it is finalised, it would bar him from contesting elections for at least five years.

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South Korea’s presidential front-runner Lee Jae-myung enters leadership race

South Korea’s presidential front-runner Lee Jae-myung enters leadership race

The Supreme Court said that Lee violated election law by publicly stating false facts and ruled to send the case back to the appeal court.