South Korea presidential front-runner's eligibility in doubt after court ruling

Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the Democratic Party, makes a final speech during Democratic Party's presidential primary election in Goyang, South Korea, on April 27. | BLOOMBERG

by JOYCE LEE AND JU-MIN PARK
May 1, 2025

SEOUL – South Korea's Supreme Court threw into doubt front-runner Lee Jae-myung's eligibility to run for the presidency on Thursday by overturning an earlier ruling that had cleared him of breaking an election law.

The Supreme Court said that Lee violated election law by publicly making "false statements" during his 2022 presidential bid and sent the case back to the appeals court.

The ruling could undermine Lee's credibility to be on the ballot and further deepen divisions in society, after months of political turmoil that have hampered efforts to steer Asia's fourth-largest economy through the choppy waters of U.S. tariffs.