This Time Daejang-dong... Lee Jae-myung to Appear Again at Prosecutors' Office Tomorrow After 18 Days

Tension Over Number of Investigations and Attendance Time
Arrest Warrant Likely to Be Requested After One Investigation
Attention on How Representative Lee Will Respond to Arrest Approval Motion

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is appearing at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 10th to undergo investigation related to the 'Seongnam FC sponsorship fund suspicion' case. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 28th as a suspect in the 'Daejang-dong and Wirye development project preferential treatment and corruption' allegations. This comes 18 days after he was investigated by the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on the 10th regarding the 'Seongnam FC sponsorship' case.

According to legal circles on the 27th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) and Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which are investigating the Daejang-dong and Wirye cases, are conducting final checks on matters to confirm with Lee ahead of his questioning by recalling key related figures, including Jeong Jin-sang, former Chief of Political Coordination at the party leader's office, who is currently detained. It is known that the prosecution has prepared a questionnaire of about 100 pages of A4 paper.

Lee, who did not schedule any official external events during the Lunar New Year holiday and prepared for the prosecution investigation with his lawyers, is reported to have prepared a written statement of about 30 pages refuting the charges applied to him by the prosecution. Considering that the statement he submitted to the prosecutor during the Seongnam branch investigation was about six pages, it indicates that the content to be investigated this time is several times larger.

In the Seongnam FC case, the Seongnam branch's Criminal Division 3 (specializing in corruption and economic crimes) did not have a deputy chief prosecutor, so Chief Prosecutor Yoo Min-jong personally investigated Lee. However, this time, prosecutors who have been directly in charge of the investigation, including deputy chief prosecutors, are expected to be involved in the questioning.

The prosecution will investigate Lee on charges that during the Daejang-dong project promotion process, he caused astronomical profits to private businesspersons such as Kim Man-bae while causing losses to Seongnam City, and that he leaked internal information to private contractors during the selection process of developers for the Wirye New Town development project (charges of breach of trust and violation of the former Anti-Corruption Act). Recently, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office also received the Baekhyeon-dong case related to Lee from the Seongnam branch and is investigating it, but it is known that the prosecution limited the scope of the investigation to the Daejang-dong and Wirye cases when notifying Lee's side of the summons.

Recently, the prosecution additionally indicted the Daejang-dong group for violating the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act. Although Lee was not named as an accomplice in the indictment, they believe that as the final decision-maker, Lee was briefed on and approved the entire project process, allowing the project to proceed.

The key point of this investigation is whether the prosecution can prove with evidence that, as previously testified by lawyer Nam Wook and former Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, Lee was aware that the private businesspersons would receive huge profits and that Seongnam City could suffer losses, yet approved the project to proceed favorably for them, and that he was informed through former Chief Jeong about the fact that 42.8 billion KRW of the profits allocated to Cheonhwa-dongin No. 1 was to be delivered.

However, if Lee submits a pre-prepared written statement as he did during the Seongnam branch investigation and responds to specific questions with statements in lieu of answers, it is highly likely that the prosecution will not disclose key evidence in advance and will use it in court.

The prosecution, which believes that at least two rounds of questioning are necessary due to the vast amount of material to be investigated, has been coordinating the summons schedule with Lee's side. However, since Lee's side set the attendance date as Saturday the 28th and notified the prosecution, the possibility of additional summons is low. Regarding the attendance time, the prosecution requested 9:30 a.m., but Lee's side prefers 10:30 a.m., and negotiations are ongoing, according to the prosecution.

In legal circles, it is expected that after completing the investigation of the Daejang-dong and Wirye cases, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office will request a pre-trial detention warrant for Lee by combining these cases with the Seongnam FC case transferred from the Seongnam branch.

Although the likelihood of the arrest consent bill passing in the National Assembly, where the opposition holds the majority, is low, considering the severity of the charges against Lee and the fairness with his closest aides such as Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong, who were previously indicted and detained as accomplices, it is difficult for the prosecution to indict Lee without attempting to secure his custody.

If a warrant is requested, attention will focus on what instructions Lee will give to the Democratic Party lawmakers.

Although unlikely, Lee raised his voice last year during the local election campaign to limit the parliamentary immunity of lawmakers, and recently expressed a determination to 'face the prosecution investigation head-on' in a TV interview, so he may choose to confidently undergo the court's warrant review.

However, considering that after losing the presidential election last year, Lee ran for the by-election in Incheon Gyeyang-eul, where he had no ties, despite negative public opinion, was elected as a member of the National Assembly, and then rose to party leader through a primary, this can be seen as a strategic move to prepare for imminent judicial risks. Therefore, even if the Democratic Party does not set a party line to reject the arrest consent bill, it is highly likely that the bill will be rejected through a free vote by Democratic Party lawmakers.

Ahead of the prosecution summons, Lee, who is carrying out a 'Listening Tour' schedule, met supporters in Jeongeup, Jeonbuk, the day before, and appealed, "You say you will protect me, but originally, I am the one who protects you. If you protect me well, I will also protect you well."