On the 10th, Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the Democratic Party, attended the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office regarding the ‘Suspicion of Seongnam FC donation’. Photo Collaboration Foundation
On the morning of the 28th, Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the Democratic Party, who is the ‘final top’ of the prime minister in the suspicion of corruption in the development of Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, will appear at the prosecution as a suspect. It has been 1 year and 4 months since the suspicion of Daejang-dong was raised in September 2021.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office’s anti-corruption investigation division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-joon) and 3 Division (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) summon Lee for investigation on charges of business breach of trust and violation of the Anti-Corruption Act.
Representative Lee will arrive at the outskirts of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul at around 10:20 am, greet supporters, and then move into the prosecutor’s office. It is expected that there will be a brief position announcement in front of reporters before entering the investigation room.
Representative Lee is charged with breach of trust, violation of the Public Officials’ Conflict of Interest Prevention Act and the Anti-Corruption Act, post-acquisition of bribery (acceptance of bribery following fraudulent actions), and violation of the Political Fund Act. All of them are related to corruption in the development of Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town. The prosecution summoned Lee as a suspect on charges of breach of trust and violation of the Act on Prevention of Conflicts of Interest and Anti-Corruption by Public Officials.
Representative Lee is accused of leaking internal secrets of Seongnam City or Seongnam Urban Development Corporation to private contractors as the final decision-maker in the Wirye/Daejang-dong development project while serving as Seongnam Mayor in the past, so that they might make huge profits.
Prosecutors believe that Lee provided preferential treatment to private business owners to make unfair profits, including 788.6 billion won from the Daejang-dong project and 21.1 billion won from the Wirye New Town project. On the other hand, Seongnam City sees only a fixed profit of 182.2 billion won, although additional profits might have been obtained through the Daejang-dong project.
Prosecutors suspect that Lee made the final decision on the business structure to drive profits in the private sector, and in return received various election support or funding from private businessmen through his aides, such as Jeong Jin-sang, then policy secretary.
On the other hand, Representative Lee’s side is denying the prosecution’s allegations, and it is unknown whether he will respond to the prosecution’s summons in the future, so the investigation on this day is expected to be prolonged.
Representative Lee denies the allegations, saying, “I have never been promised a ‘share in Daejang-dong’ or received any campaign funds.” Immediately following visiting the Gunsan Public Market in Jeonbuk on the 27th, CEO Lee criticized the prosecution’s investigation, saying, “If the prosecution writes (in the indictment), it becomes evidence of guilt.”
However, if CEO Lee does not agree to the late-night investigation, the investigation can be completed before 12:00 p.m., including the reading time of the record. It is highly likely that the investigation method will be consistent, such as preparing a written statement of 30 pages of A4 paper ahead of the prosecution investigation and replacing it with a written statement rather than an oral answer.
Meanwhile, the prosecution and CEO Lee fought a war of nerves over the investigation schedule until the day before the investigation. The prosecution might not narrow the difference between Lee and the investigation schedule until the 27th, the day before the investigation.
The prosecutors said that because of the vast amount of investigation, CEO Lee should be investigated from 9:30 am on the 28th, but CEO Lee endured, saying that he would be investigated from 10:30 am, later. The prosecution is in the position that two more investigations are needed, but it is unclear whether Lee will respond.