President Lee Jae-myung apologized for excluding Roh Woong-rae, a former Democratic Party lawmaker, from the party's nomination during the 2024 general election after he was acquitted in his appeal on charges of bribery and illegal political funds.
On August 21, President Lee posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "Former Congressman Roh Woong-rae has been acquitted in his appeal, just as he was in the first trial. I am sorry, respected senior, and I love you."
President Lee described Roh as "a respected senior and one of the few political allies" and noted that he was the candidate with the highest chance of winning in the Mapo-gap district for the Democratic Party.
He criticized the prosecution for relying on questionable witness statements and what he termed 'rustling sounds' as grounds for seeking an arrest warrant against Roh.
"Fortunately, the vote on the arrest warrant in the National Assembly was rejected, allowing him to avoid imprisonment, but he became prey to the relentless political prosecution and was ultimately charged as a corruption offender," President Lee said.
He explained the circumstances surrounding Roh's exclusion from the nomination, stating, "The general election held after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration took power was a crucial election that determined the fate of the country and its people, and the Democratic Party had to win. As the leader of the party, I had no choice but to exclude former Congressman Roh with tears in my eyes."
President Lee expressed empathy for Roh, saying, "How can anyone who is not the person involved imagine how unfair it must have been for him, who was charged by the political prosecution and stripped of his political life by the party?"
Despite being excluded from the nomination, Roh campaigned for the Democratic Party candidates, but the party lost in the Mapo-gap election.
"Although former Congressman Roh was acquitted in the first trial after much hardship, the prosecution still chose to appeal. Even though he was acquitted again in the appeal, both Roh and the Democratic Party, as well as South Korean democracy, have already lost too much," President Lee pointed out.
He added, "As the party leader, I had to resort to sacrificing a loyal member for the sake of the overall election in the face of the political prosecution's atrocities. I extend my belated apology to former Congressman Roh, who has proven his innocence and escaped the dangers of injustice, along with my congratulations."
President Lee emphasized, "I will ensure that no innocent citizen suffers as a result of the abuse of state power again."
Earlier, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Appeal Division 5-2 ruled that Roh was not guilty of violating the Political Funds Act and accepting bribes, just as in the first trial.
Roh was charged in March 2023 for allegedly receiving a total of 60 million won from businessman Park over five occasions from February to December 2020, in exchange for facilitating permits for a logistics center and providing convenience for a power plant supply and solar power project.
The appellate court upheld the first trial's ruling that evidence obtained from the spouse's mobile phone of businessman Park was illegally collected and thus lacked evidentiary value. The prosecution had obtained materials related to Roh from a mobile phone seized during the investigation of former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jung-geun.
While the court found some errors in the first trial's decision to exclude certain electronic information from Park's phone as evidence, it concluded that even if that evidence were accepted, it would still be insufficient to prove the charges against Roh.
The prosecution sought a four-year prison sentence, a fine of 200 million won, and a confiscation of 50 million won in the appeal.
Immediately after the ruling, Roh stated, "We must put an end to the wrongful investigative practices of the political prosecution."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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