The wife of the main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung has filed an appeal against a court ruling that fined her for providing free meals during Lee's run in the party primary for the 2022 presidential election, people familiar with the matter said Monday.

Kim Hye-kyung submitted the appeal to the Suwon District Court, south of Seoul, through her legal counsel, after she was found guilty of providing meals worth 104,000 won ($74.43) to the wives of three former and current party lawmakers and three of her aides at a restaurant in Seoul in August 2021.

That was shortly after Lee had declared his bid for the party election.

In the court ruling last Thursday, Kim was fined 1.5 million won.

The court found that Kim was guilty of allowing her secretary to use a corporate card from the Gyeonggi regional government, where her husband was governor at the time, to pay for the meals.

Kim has denied the charges and argued that the ruling was a "guilty conviction based on assumption." (Yonhap)