Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung waves at his supporters at a street market in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Yonhap

Korea's main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has filed an appeal against a suspended sentence by a local court over violations of the election law during the previous presidential campaign, legal sources said Thursday.

On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to a one-year prison term suspended for two years as it found him guilty of making false statements in violation of the Public Official Election Act.

Lee was accused of lying during a media interview in December 2021 that he did not know the late Kim Moon-ki, a former executive of Seongnam Development Corp., which was behind a corruption-ridden development project in Seongnam, south of Seoul, when Lee was the city's mayor. Lee also suggested he did not play golf with Kim while on a business trip to Australia.

He was also accused of lying during a parliamentary audit of the Gyeonggi provincial government in October 2021 that he was under pressure from the land ministry to rezone the former site of the Korea Food Research Institute in Seongnam. The site was later developed into apartment complexes by a private developer, and allegations were raised that Lee rezoned the land to give preferential treatment to the company.

The court said all the statements were lies, though the part about not knowing Kim could not legalistically be considered a violation of the election law.

Lee appealed to the Seoul Central District Court. Prosecutors who sought a two-year prison term are also expected to lodge an appeal before the deadline of Nov. 22 for an appeal.

Any final prison term or a fine of 1 million won (US$710) or more would strip him of his parliamentary seat and his right to run in any elections, including the 2027 presidential election, for the next five years. (Yonhap)