South Korea’s Supreme Court has taken the rare step of referring the appeal trial of former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung directly to its full bench, beginning deliberations on Apr. 22.
The move, which bypasses the usual panel review process, has drawn attention in legal circles and is widely seen as an attempt to deliver a final ruling before the next presidential election.
The court initially assigned the case to its Second Division, overseen by Justice Park Young-jae, at around 10 a.m. Monday. However, just two hours later, it abruptly transferred the case to the full bench and convened the first session of deliberations at 2 p.m. that same afternoon.
Typically, the Supreme Court hears cases in smaller panels of justices. A case is elevated to the full bench only when lower panels are unable to reach a consensus, when existing precedents may need to be revisited, or when a case is deemed exceptionally significant.
Legal experts noted that skipping the panel stage altogether is extremely rare. Sources say Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae made the decision himself.
Out of the court’s 14 justices, 12 will take part in the review. Chun Dae-yup, who heads the National Court Administration, and Roh Tae-ak, who also serves as chairperson of the National Election Commission, will not participate due to their administrative roles. Chief Justice Cho will preside over the proceedings, while Justice Park will serve as the lead judge.
“This is an exceptionally unusual situation engineered by the court itself,” said a senior judge. “Having created these extraordinary conditions, it would be strange for the court to delay a ruling past the election.”
Lee was indicted for violating election law during the 2021 presidential race, when he was the Democratic Party’s nominee.
Prosecutors accused him of spreading false information by claiming that he had not known Kim Moon-gi, a key official behind the Daejang-dong development project, while serving as mayor of Seongnam. Lee also told lawmakers during a National Assembly audit that the Ministry of Land had pressured local authorities to rezone a site in Baekhyeon-dong—remarks that prosecutors argued amounted to knowingly making false statements.
In the first trial, the court sentenced Lee to one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence. However, on Mar. 26, an appellate court overturned the ruling and acquitted him of all charges.
