Presidential candidate accused of hypocrisy and insensitivity
South Korea’s top liberal presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is facing a lawsuit for calling his nephew’s murder of his ex-girlfriend and her mother “dating violence.” Lee represented his nephew during the trials.
The victim’s family filed a civil lawsuit against Lee for damages of 100 million won ($83,787) but the court data showed that Lee has not received the written accusation for three weeks now. Some speculate that Lee is intentionally trying to delay the case because it could affect the presidential election in March.
The Seoul Central District Court sent the accusation from the victims’ family on December 15. The court data reported that “the recipient was unavailable or did not answer the door,” which means that they were unable to serve the document to Lee. The court checked Lee’s address once more and sent the document again on December 27. However, Lee did not receive it yet.
Lee asked the court to allow him to access and copy the written accusation on December 20, the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper reported on January 3. The newspaper cited a lawyer saying that “it is very rare [for the defendant] not to receive an accusation sent by the court and to then ask the court to have him access the document.” The lawyer said, “It appears that he is trying to review the case but is not trying to receive an official accusation that will have legal force.” Under South Korean civil law, a court can only begin a trial after the defendant or their legal representative is served with the court’s accusation in person.
In this case, Lee’s nephew surnamed Kim went to his ex-girlfriend’s home and killed her and her mother in 2006. Kim stabbed his ex-girlfriend 19 times and her mother 18 times. The father of the victim was also at the scene, and he fell from the balcony after fighting Kim. Kim was indicted for murder and attempted murder.
Lee Jae-myung represented Kim at that time. Lee argued that Kim was unfit for trial due to his inability to control his anger. Both the lower court and high court did not accept that defense argument and sentenced Kim to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court confirmed the ruling in February 2007.
This case became a political issue in November 2021. At that time, Lee argued that “one person from my family committed a grave crime related to dating violence.” The victims’ family sued Lee on December 9 for defending Kim falsely by describing him as “unfit” to be tried and calling the case “dating violence.”
The Munhwa Ilbo reported that an official from Lee’s election team said, “He was not able to receive the accusation in person due to his busy schedule ahead of the election, and the purpose of requesting the access of the document to the court was to find out about the content instead of trying to delay the case.”
The public was angry over Lee’s hypocrisy after hearing the news that he defended his nephew. In 2018, a man named Kim Sung-soo killed a part-time worker at an internet café in Seoul. Kim stabbed the victim in the face 80 times. Kim’s family argued that the accused suffered from depression. At that time, Lee wrote on his Twitter that “people are angered at a reduced sentence due to the unstable mental condition.”
When apologizing for defending his nephew, Lee said that “I had to take care of it since it was related to my family.” However, it was later reported that it was not the only time that Lee defended a murderer. He previously argued for a reduced sentence, citing mental instability after drinking alcohol.
In August 2007, a man surnamed Lee was indicted for murdering a woman in her 40s. Lee had an affair with the woman and they lived together for four years. Lee gave the woman 1 million won ($837) every month for living expenses. Lee also paid the college tuition fees for the victim’s oldest daughter.
The woman asked Lee to break up on June 24. Lee told the woman to return all the money he had given her, but she refused.
Lee brought a 26-centimeter sushi knife and agricultural pesticides to the victim’s house. At that time the victim was with her daughter. Lee poured the agricultural pesticides into two bowls and a glass and told them to drink it. The victim did not beg for her life, but asked Lee to let her daughter go. Lee told her to “shut up” and stabbed her in the stomach 8 times. The victim was sent to a hospital and died the following day.
Lee Jae-myung defended Lee, arguing he was mentally unstable after drinking alcohol. However, the court sentenced the defendant to 15 years in prison, as the “daughter who saw her mother killed ruthlessly will suffer from the trauma forever.”
Currently, Lee Jae-myung is leading in most national polls ahead of the March presidential election. His history of defending violent criminals raises serious questions about whether his character is suited for the presidency.
