Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is set to be sentenced Monday on charges of suborning a former mayoral secretary to make false court testimony in his favor, marking the second in a series of rulings that could jeopardize his potential presidential bid.

Lee, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is accused of encouraging a secretary to former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang to give false testimony during a 2019 trial related to his alleged election law violations.

The alleged offense occurred when Lee, as a candidate for Gyeonggi governor, claimed during a 2018 TV debate that he had been wrongly convicted in the early 2000s of impersonating a prosecutor to investigate an apartment project scandal in collusion with a KBS TV news producer.

Lee was acquitted in the election law violation case, which prosecutors allege was aided by the secretary's false testimony.

Prosecutors claim Lee persuaded the secretary to testify that he had been framed by the former mayor and KBS. Lee denies the charges, asserting he only requested the secretary to provide truthful testimony.

The Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to deliver its sentence at 2 p.m.

If sentenced to a prison term and the ruling is upheld, Lee would lose his parliamentary seat and be barred from running for public office for at least five years after serving his sentence, effectively excluding him from the 2027 presidential election.

A suspended prison term would also strip Lee of his parliamentary seat and prevent him from running in elections until the suspension ends, which might still allow him to participate in the next presidential race.

If sentenced to a fine, Lee would retain his parliamentary seat and remain eligible to run for office.

Prosecutors have requested a three-year prison sentence for Lee.

The opposition leader is also facing trial in four other cases.

In an earlier ruling this month, Lee received a suspended one-year prison term for making false statements as a candidate during the previous presidential election.

Lee has been regarded as a leading contender for the next presidential race, after narrowly losing to President Yoon Suk Yeol by 0.73 percentage points in 2022. (Yonhap)