The Democratic Party proposed a bill Friday that suspends an ongoing criminal trial for a president-elect, a day after the Supreme Court overturned a not-guilty verdict of DP presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung over election law violation.
The move came after the top court struck down a lower court's acquittal of Lee on charges of election law violation, sending the case back to the appeals court and raising questions over Lee's candidacy in the June 3 presidential election.
The DP unilaterally tabled the revision to the Criminal Procedure Act during a meeting of the National Assembly's legislation and judiciary committee despite opposition from lawmakers of the People Power Party (PPP).
The DP plans to refer the bill to a subcommittee for deliberation and to push it through a plenary session next week.
Article 84 of the Constitution stipulates that the president "shall not be charged with a criminal offense during his tenure of office except for insurrection or treason."
However, there is currently no clear rule on whether a criminal trial in progress may continue if the indicted individual is later elected president.
The PPP strongly opposed the bill and claimed it was proposed to benefit a "specific individual who refuses to stop down as a candidate" despite public sentiment, apparently referring to presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. (Yonhap)
