Uri Party Rep. Lee Chul-woo May Lose Seat

A ruling Uri Party lawmaker, Lee Chul-woo, faces losing his National Assembly seat as he was found guilty of violating the nation`s election law. Rep. Lee stirred up political arguments due to his past records including allegedly joining North Korea`s ruling Workers` Party.

An appellate court Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling to sentence the lawmaker to a 2.5 million won fine.

He may lose his National Assembly seat and be ineligible for public posts if he receives a punishment greater than one million won in fines in his final appeal.

He was indicted without physical restraint in violation of the election law for making a false statement at an election campaign in the town of Jeon Gok, Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province on April 14, a day before the 17th general elections, saying that “GNP candidate Goh Cho-heung said that people in their 20s and 30s can go play as they do not need to vote.”

woogija@donga.com