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2w ago

Courts Indefinitely Suspend Multiple Trials Against President Lee

The decisions pause Lee’s legal battles under presidential immunity, with his cabinet approving special counsel probes into former president Yoon Suk Yeol.

FILE - Then-South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool, File)
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Park Chan-dae (2nd from L), acting leader of the ruling Democratic Party, speaks during the last meeting of the current floor leadership at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 10, 2025. (Yonhap)
The ruling Democratic Party on Tuesday delayed a planned plenary session to pass several contentious bills, including one that would halt criminal trials faced by recently elected President Lee Jae-myung. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI

Overview

  • The Seoul High Court invoked Article 84 of the Constitution to postpone indefinitely Lee Jae-myung’s retrial on election law violation charges that had been scheduled for June 18.
  • The Seoul Central District Court also suspended the Daejang-dong development scandal hearing, marking three of Lee’s five pending criminal trials put on hold under immunity.
  • Legal experts say the judges’ rulings may set precedents for delaying Lee’s other criminal cases, including corruption and perjury charges, until after his presidential term.
  • Lee’s cabinet on June 10 approved three special counsel bills to investigate Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration, corruption allegations against his wife Kim Keon Hee and the 2023 drowning death of a Marine.
  • The Democratic Party is drafting legislation to codify trial suspensions for sitting presidents, a proposal the opposition People Power Party condemns as granting Lee a legal shield.