South Korea's Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a lower court's acquittal of opposition Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-men on charges of violating election laws, sending the case back to an appeals court, Yonhap reported.

In a televised ruling, the high court overturned a March verdict by the Seoul Supreme Court, which acquitted Lee of lying as a presidential candidate during the 2022 election campaign.

The Supreme Court's decision came about a month before the country's June 3 presidential election.

The Supreme Court was unexpectedly quick to hear the case, given that the final decision could affect Lee's eligibility to run for office. Lee is considered one of the top candidates in the upcoming election as he is leading in opinion polls by a large margin.

By law, those who receive a fine of 1 million won (US$700) or more for violating the election law cannot run for office for five years.