The Seoul High Court this week postponed the trial of Lee Jae-myung, the opposition Democratic Party's presidential candidate, until after the June 3 election.

The court's decision on Wednesday is the latest twist in a political drama that has divided South Korea since the now-impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) briefly declared martial law in December last year.

"It is obviously critical that legal procedures be followed in all cases, but the situation in South Korean politics is extremely volatile at the moment and I believe the court ruled this way as they believed it would best preserve stability," Park Jung-won, a professor of law at Dankook University, told DW.

Critics, however, say the ruling could deal a mortal blow to the PPP and effectively guarantees that Lee will win the election in June.

Lee is accused of violating election laws in a previous campaign by deliberately spreading "false information" to voters during campaigning for the

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