Prosecutors to Investigate Complainant on June 28 in 'Lee Jae-myung Lawyer Fee Payment Allegation' Case

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate and governor of Gyeonggi Province, holds a press conference on the 25th at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, announcing his mid-term resignation from the governor position. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution will summon the accuser in the so-called 'lawyer fee payment on behalf' case involving Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, for investigation on the 28th.

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Public Investigation Division of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Jong-hyun), which is investigating this case, plans to summon Lee Min-gu, the representative of the Awake Citizens Solidarity Party, who filed a complaint against the candidate for false statement charges, as the accuser for questioning.

Earlier, the Awake Citizens Solidarity Party submitted a complaint to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 7th, alleging that "contrary to the candidate's statement that he spent 300 million won on lawyer fees, there is suspicion that he actually gave about 2 billion won in cash and stocks to a specific lawyer."

They also claimed that the candidate's statement that Yoo Dong-gyu, the former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and a key figure in the Daejang-dong scandal, was "not a close aide" was false.

This case was originally assigned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office but was transferred to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on the 13th due to jurisdictional issues.

The candidate was prosecuted and tried for violating the Public Official Election Act from 2018 to 2020 while serving as the Governor of Gyeonggi Province. During this process, multiple lawyers represented Governor Lee, but there is suspicion that the lawyer fees paid to them were covered by a party other than the candidate's side.