Prosecutors Request Testimony from Late Kim Moon-gi's Family in Lee Jae-myung Election Law Violation Trial... Kim Yong and Yoo Dong-gyu Also Involved

Tension Over Witness Adoption... Both Sides Expected to Request Up to 50 Witnesses

A photo taken in January 2015 during an overseas trip to New Zealand, showing Lee Jae-myung, then mayor of Seongnam and current leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, together with Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and the late Kim Moon-gi, former Head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation (left), and a photo of Lee and Kim holding hands. Photo by People Power Party

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] In the trial concerning Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act (false statement publication), the prosecution has requested the family of the late Kim Moon-gi, former Head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, to appear as witnesses.

Lee made a statement in a broadcast interview on December 22 of last year, the day after Kim’s extreme decision, claiming that he did not know Kim during his tenure as mayor. However, Kim’s family publicly revealed a photo taken with Lee during his time as mayor of Seongnam and a certificate of commendation received from Lee in February. If Kim’s family is accepted as witnesses, it is expected that they will face off with Lee in court and engage in a battle over the truth.

At the third preparatory hearing for Lee’s trial held on the 20th at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Presiding Judge Kang Gyu-tae), the prosecution requested witnesses including Kim’s family, Kim Yong, former Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and lawyer Jeong Min-yong (former Head of the Corporation’s Strategic Business Office).

After his release in October, Yoo stated to the media, “Lee doesn’t know Kim Moon-gi? The three of us played golf together and even rode carts in Australia.”

Prosecution vs. Defense in a Tense Standoff Over Witness Acceptance... 50 Witnesses Requested

During the trial, the prosecution and Lee’s defense engaged in a tense standoff over the acceptance of witnesses.

When the prosecution requested Yoo as a witness, Lee’s defense objected, saying they had already agreed to admit Yoo’s testimony statement as evidence and that requesting him again as a witness was an attempt to question him on matters not included in the statement.

The prosecution responded that since Yoo had made several statements through media interviews after Lee was indicted, they intended to question him about those statements.

Ultimately, the court intervened as a mediator and decided that the prosecution would first question Yoo as a witness, and at the next hearing, Lee’s defense would conduct cross-examination.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the total number of witnesses requested or to be requested by both sides reaches 50. The presiding judge expressed difficulty, asking, “Will this be done within six months?” This remark reflects awareness that the trial period for first-instance cases under the Public Official Election Act is limited to six months.

Lee’s defense also protested that the prosecution was blocking access to the testimony statements of persons involved in the case. The prosecution explained that since the investigation is still ongoing, access is necessarily restricted but promised to allow access at least two to three weeks before the witness examination schedule is set.

The court did not decide on the acceptance of witnesses that day and decided to proceed with one more preparatory procedure.

Prosecution Judges Lee’s Statements on Kim Moon-gi and Baekhyeon-dong as False

On September 8, the prosecution indicted Lee without detention on charges of false statements related to Kim and Baekhyeon-dong (violation of the Public Official Election Act). The Baekhyeon-dong case was investigated by the Criminal Division 3 of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office Seongnam Branch (Chief Prosecutor Yoo Min-jong), but to allow Lee to face trial for both cases together, a prosecutor from the Seongnam Branch was temporarily assigned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, which filed a consolidated indictment at the Seoul Central District Court.

The prosecution judged that Lee’s repeated statements on broadcasts claiming he did not know Kim, a subordinate official, during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam when the Daejang-dong development project was underway, and that he only came to know about the project from a knowledgeable staff member after being elected governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2018 when the election law lawsuit began, were false.

Based on Kim’s mobile phone and laptop, testimony from Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, photos released by the bereaved family, voice recordings, and testimonies from related parties, the prosecution confirmed circumstances indicating that Lee knew Kim not only during his tenure as mayor when the Daejang-dong project was promoted but also from his time as a lawyer, leading to this conclusion.

It is also known that the prosecution confirmed that Kim had already saved Lee’s contact as “Lawyer Lee Jae-myung” on his mobile phone in 2009 and that the two played golf together during an official trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2015 while Lee was mayor.

In particular, the prosecution confirmed that Lee received several face-to-face reports from Kim in the mayor’s office regarding the Daejang-dong development project and the First Industrial Complex park project. Considering that the Daejang-dong controversy was a major issue during the presidential election and that the controversy intensified after Kim’s death, the prosecution judged that Lee intentionally lied to block any connection with Kim, a key staff member of the Daejang-dong project, or any association with the project mediated by Kim.

Meanwhile, the prosecution also concluded that Lee’s statements related to the “Baekhyeon-dong preferential treatment suspicion” were false.

On October 20 last year, during the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee’s Gyeonggi Province audit, Lee said regarding the suspicion of preferential treatment in the land use change of the Baekhyeon-dong Korea Food Research Institute site, “The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requested the land use change, and under the Special Act on the Relocation of Public Institutions, we had no choice but to comply.”

He also said, “Since it was unacceptable for Seongnam City to allow a land use change that would generate billions in profits, Seongnam City said it would secure some profits and attract office facilities, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport threatened to accuse us of dereliction of duty.”

However, the prosecution, based on official documents and investigations of responsible officials, found that Seongnam City had not received any request from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for a four-stage land use upgrade at that time and that it was Seongnam City’s own decision.