Lee Jae-myung Receives Prosecution Summons on Birthday... Opposition Furious Over "Refusal to Appear on 28th"

Lee Jae-myung "Am I That Scary?" Reaction
Summons Notice Arrives Amid Budget Negotiation Standoff... "An Attempt to Eradicate Politics"
Opposition Also to Uncoordinated Notification Method

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Park Jun-i] On the 22nd, as the prosecution notified Lee Jae-myung, the leader of Seongnam FC sponsorship fund allegations, of a summons, the Democratic Party of Korea strongly opposed it. The Democratic Party expressed an official critical stance on the prosecution's unilateral summons notification method and timing, showing a heated reaction. With this sudden adverse event during the budget negotiation period, the possibility of confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties has also increased. Attention is also focused on whether Lee will comply with the summons in the future.

Regarding the summons notification from the prosecution on the same day, Lee said at the Gyeongbuk Andong Jungang Market during the 'Into the People, Listening Tour' field speech, "The prosecution suddenly contacted me yesterday saying they would summon me," raising his voice, "Is Lee Jae-myung that scary?" He criticized, "Is now the time to destroy the opposition party and eliminate political rivals?" and "They have been scrutinizing Daejang-dong for nearly years, and now they say they will summon me over the FC advertisement, which was previously decided as no charges." He continued, "I have been scrutinized for over ten years. They have tried for over ten years to create dust that does not exist, but it seems they still haven't succeeded," and "During my public office tenure, and even before that during my civic activism, I was repeatedly harassed by the prosecution and police." He showed a strong reaction to the prosecution's summons notification.

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, also met with reporters after the policy coordination meeting on the same day and said, "The budget is ultimately blocked due to the president's stubbornness, and now to summon the leader of the main opposition party, who was also a presidential contender, like this, it can only be seen as a desperate attempt to eliminate political rivals without any concern for people's livelihood or normal government operation," expressing "deep regret."

Kim Ui-gyeom, the Democratic Party spokesperson, said in a briefing at the National Assembly communication office regarding the summons notification of Lee over the 'Seongnam FC advertising expense case,' "This is an unprecedented outrage." Kim pointed out, "This case was investigated by the police for over three years and concluded with no indictment last year," and "The prosecution twisted the police's arm and revived a 'dead case'." He rebutted, "On what grounds do they say they will investigate Lee Jae-myung?" and "Has Lee ever put even 10 won into his own pocket?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Opposition also opposes prosecution's timing and method of summons

Although there had been expectations of a summons investigation by the prosecution, the opposition party is also expressing anger over the method and timing.

Regarding the timing, spokesperson Kim said, "Now is the time when the ruling and opposition parties are putting their heads together over next year's budget," and criticized, "To summon the leader of the main opposition party at such a critical time is to try to annihilate politics." In fact, the political world is currently in a standoff over next year's budget as if standing on a knife's edge. The Democratic Party has prepared a revised budget reflecting only cuts to the government's budget proposal. Although a chairman's mediation proposal including a reduction of the highest corporate tax rate has been prepared, the ruling and opposition parties still have not processed the budget. The summons notification to Lee has inevitably affected the budget negotiations to some extent due to the Democratic Party's heated reaction.

Complaints about the summons notification method also poured out. Spokesperson Kim said in a briefing, "The summons notification was extremely rude," and "The prosecution notified Lee Jae-myung of the summons investigation only last night. Summoning the leader of the main opposition party is a serious matter, but there was no prior coordination at all." He criticized, "They unilaterally notified frontline party officials and only sent a single fax."

After the briefing, spokesperson Kim told reporters, "Around 6 p.m., a phone call came to the lawmaker's office and the party leader's secretariat saying they would notify the summons by phone, and around 9 a.m. today, a single fax arrived," and "There was no mention of sending it, so the fax was discovered at 11 a.m."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Additionally, it became a topic of discussion that the day the summons notification fax arrived was Lee's registered birthday. According to Lee's official profile, he was born on December 22, 1964. However, the date Lee has considered his birthday is October 23, 1963 (lunar calendar), which is not his actual birthday. Nevertheless, the summons notification arrived on the easiest-to-verify birthday of Lee. For reference, Lee revealed during the last presidential election period that due to poverty and other circumstances in his childhood, his mother forgot his birthday, so they set his birthday through a fortune teller. It is unknown whether the October 23 (lunar calendar) date he has considered his birthday is his actual birthday.

Democrats: "Unilateral notification is unreasonable... will refuse on the 28th"

The Democratic Party's position is to refuse on the 28th since the prosecution notified the summons without prior consultation. However, as calls for Lee's resignation from the anti-Lee faction within the party continue, and Lee's intention is important, the party plans to decide on whether to respond in writing after internal discussions. Senior Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Ho-young emphasized, "We cannot comply on the 28th, which was unilaterally notified," but added, "Since there are schedules in Gwangju (Into the People) and a Supreme Council meeting, internal discussions must precede, and it is necessary to negotiate whether to respond to a written investigation or the date of the investigation." Spokesperson Kim also said, "After Lee's schedule, party officials will discuss and make a decision."

Previously, on September 6, Lee was also requested to appear by the prosecution on charges of violation of the Public Official Election Act but submitted a written statement and did not appear. At that time, Lee decided the direction after discussions such as the Supreme Council meeting. The prosecution indicted Lee without detention then. However, in this summons request, the circumstances differ from before, and there are talks that a summons investigation is inevitable.