SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s firebrand opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, was legally cleared of wrongdoings Wednesday, clearing one hurdle to a potential bid for the nation’s presidency.
Seoul High Court acquitted Mr. Lee of perjury, the latest indication of the solidity of the left-leaning leader’s Teflon-like political armor.
He has emerged unscathed from multiple legal challenges related for the most part to his career as a local politician before entering national politics and taking on the leadership of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.
If convicted Wednesday, he could have been ineligible to occupy a seat and run for office at a time when Korea’s national leadership hangs in the balance.
“I thank the court for delivering a proper ruling based on the truth and justice,” Mr. Lee said.
The country is being helmed by acting-President Lee Duck-soo while President Yoon Suk Yeol awaits a Constitutional Court decision on whether to confirm his impeachment or return him to office.
Mr. Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly in the wake of his shock Dec. 3 martial law decree, which he said took aim at pro-North Korean and pro-Chinese “anti-state forces,” and alleged electoral interference.
He deployed commandos to the National Assembly and the National Electoral Commission — but his decree was legally overturned in hours by the vote of National Assembly representatives.
They were led by Mr. Lee, who livestreamed his actions that night, and by his liberal DPK, but also included members of Mr. Yoon’s conservative People Power Party.
Discredited and disempowered, Mr. Yoon was subsequently impeached.
The Korean nation — a strategically located democracy on China’s doorstep that hosts the only bases U.S. troops maintain on continental Asian soil — is waiting, too.
Demonstrations in central Seoul, both pro- and anti-Yoon, are taking place daily, signaling deep national polarization.
The Constitutional Court has taken longer to decide on Mr. Yoon’s case than it did on two prior presidential impeachments.
If the impeachment of the conservative Mr. Yoon is upheld, a presidential election must be held within 60 days. Recent polls indicate that Mr. Lee would win that plebiscite.
Mr. Lee is routinely labeled as a leftist or liberal leader, but it’s far from clear whether his brand of politics will sync or clash with the Trump administration in Washington.
Mr. Lee favors engagement with North Korea, is strongly antagonistic to the nascent strategic partnership that Mr. Yoon forged with Japan, has blamed NATO for Russia’s war on Ukraine and wants improved relations with China.
President Trump has made clear his preference for engaging North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, does not favor multilateral security partnerships and is widely accused of undermining Ukraine, though his posture toward China has not yet been clarified.
