Lee Jae-myung said he will appeal the court’s decision that could prevent him from running for president in 2027.

South Korea’s main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been convicted on charges of violating the country’s election law and given a one-year suspended prison sentence.

The Seoul Central District Court on Friday found the leader of the Democratic Party (DP) guilty of making false statements in violation of the Public Officials Election Law ahead of the 2022 presidential elections.

If approved, the decision would strip Lee of his seat in parliament and prevent him from running in the next presidential election in 2027, as the law bans him from running for public office for the next five years.

After the hearing, Lee said he would appeal the court’s decision.

“I will object. Starting from the basic facts, it is a conclusion that is difficult to accept,” he told reporters.

“There are still two more courts left in the real world, and the courts of public opinion and history are eternal,” he said, apparently referring to plans to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Lee’s supporters and critics occupied separate streets near the court, chanting opposing slogans and holding banners reading “Lee Jae-myung is innocent” and “Arrest Lee Jae-myung.”

Lee, who narrowly lost to President Yoon Suk-yeol in the 2022 elections, faces at least four trials after being accused of multiple crimes including bribery and corruption. Yoon also faces a number of controversies, including allegations of influence peddling with his wife.

In Friday’s ruling, the court found that Lee, as a 2021 presidential candidate, violated election law by making false statements that he did not know a city official in charge of a development project.

According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the official in question was the late Kim Moon-ki, a former executive of the Seongnam Development Corporation, which was behind a corruption-ridden development project in Seongnam.

Lee was also accused of making a false claim during a parliamentary audit of a land development project in Seongnam, where he served as mayor, in 2021.

Lee was mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018 before becoming governor and member of parliament of Gyeonggi province.

Lee, who is expected to be a candidate in the 2027 elections, was stabbed in the neck by a man during an event in January, survived a knife attack and underwent surgery.

His party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in April, dealing a blow to Yoon and the ruling party.

Lee, who faces another sentencing hearing on perjury charges later this month, and his party have accused prosecutors of pursuing a politically motivated case against him.