Prosecutors Prepare 100 Pages of A4 Questionnaires
CEO Lee Prepares Around 30-Page Written Statement for Response
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will appear before the prosecution for questioning after 1 year and 4 months since the investigation into the Daejang-dong related allegations began.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) and Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) will summon Lee on the 28th for investigation on charges including breach of trust in the course of duty and violation of the Anti-Corruption Act.
Lee is accused of allowing private contractors to gain enormous profits related to the Wirye and Daejang-dong development projects during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam.
The prosecution plans to focus on questioning Lee regarding allegations that he caused astronomical profits to private contractors such as Kim Man-bae during the Daejang-dong project process, resulting in losses to Seongnam City, and that he leaked internal information to private contractors during the selection process of developers for the Wirye New Town project (breach of trust and violation of the former Anti-Corruption Act).
The prosecution believes Lee provided special favors to private contractors, resulting in illicit gains of 788.6 billion KRW from the Daejang-dong project and 21.1 billion KRW from the Wirye New Town project.
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 of this month to undergo investigation related to the 'Seongnam FC Sponsorship Fund Allegation' case. Photo by Joint Press Corps
Ultimately, the key point of this investigation will be whether the prosecution can prove that Lee, despite being aware that the massive profits going to private contractors could cause losses to Seongnam City, approved the project to proceed favorably for them, and that he was informed by his closest aide, Jeong Jin-sang, former Chief of Political Coordination at the party leader’s office, about receiving 42.8 billion KRW from the profits allocated to Cheonhwa-dongin No. 1.
Since the Wirye and Daejang-dong projects have been ongoing for about 10 years, the prosecution is reported to have prepared a questionnaire exceeding 100 pages of A4 paper. Lee is said to have prepared a written statement of about 30 pages to refute the charges applied by the prosecution.
The investigation on this day is expected to be conducted by prosecutors at the deputy chief level. Lee’s side is expected to have lawyer Park Gyun-taek (former Chief Prosecutor of Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office) present. Previously, when the Seongnam branch summoned Lee for investigation regarding the Seongnam FC sponsorship fund allegations, lawyer Park also participated in the investigation.
Given the vast scope of the allegations, the prosecution intends to summon Lee once more for further questioning after this session; however, Lee reportedly finds it difficult to comply with another summons due to the heavy workload of party affairs.
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