Prosecutors Summon Lee Jae-myung Over 'Wirye and Daejang-dong Allegations'

Lee Jae-myung, Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating the Wirye and Daejang-dong development corruption cases has summoned Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has been identified as the central figure of the allegations.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) and Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) notified Lee’s side to appear for questioning after the Lunar New Year on charges including breach of trust and violation of the Anti-Corruption Act.

The prosecution suspects that Lee, who exercised final decision-making authority as the mayor of Seongnam in the Daejang-dong development corruption case, provided conveniences to private contractors, enabling them to earn a massive profit of 404 billion won, thereby causing equivalent losses to Seongnam City. It is also believed that Lee was involved in the process where his close aide Jeong Jin-sang, then Seongnam mayor’s policy secretary, received 42.8 billion won from private contractors in Daejang-dong in exchange for business favors and support for various election funds.

Regarding the Wirye New Town project, it is also considered that Jeong Jin-sang, then secretary in 2013, was involved in or tacitly approved leaking internal information to private contractors to facilitate their selection as project operators.