Prosecutors Demand 'Additional Summon Investigation' from Representative Lee's Side
Lee's Side "Prosecutors Deliberately Delay Investigation"... Prosecutors "Groundless"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was summoned to the prosecution after more than 1 year and 4 months regarding suspicions surrounding the Daejang-dong development, did not agree to a late-night investigation, resulting in the termination of the investigation.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) and Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin), which are investigating Lee, announced on the 28th that the investigation of Lee had ended and that they were reviewing the records from around 9 p.m.
The prosecution judged that there was a vast amount of content to verify regarding the suspicions about the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong development projects and requested a second summons for Lee.
The investigation began around 10:30 a.m., but Lee’s side claims that the prosecution deliberately delayed the investigation.
Regarding this, the Central District Prosecutors' Office stated, "The investigation team did not delay the investigation at all and proceeded promptly," adding, "This case involves suspicions of corruption in a long-term project, so the scope and volume of the investigation are considerable, and the investigation was conducted in detail based on materials reported to and approved by the final decision-maker."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is making a statement as he appears at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 28th to undergo investigation related to the Daejang-dong development preferential treatment allegations. Lee is accused of leaking internal secrets of Seongnam City or Seongnam Urban Development Corporation to private developers as the final decision-maker of the Wirye and Daejang-dong development projects during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam, enabling them to gain enormous profits. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Lee resolved both lunch and dinner with delivery food inside the government building on that day. Prominent politicians and conglomerate heads summoned for investigation by the prosecution usually have their meals with delivery food or pre-prepared lunch boxes inside the building.
Lee is suspected 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 believes that Lee provided special favors to private contractors, resulting in unfair gains of 788.6 billion KRW from the Daejang-dong project and 21.1 billion KRW from the Wirye New Town project.
The prosecution prepared a questionnaire exceeding 100 pages of A4 paper to verify the raised suspicions, but Lee reportedly replaced all answers to the prosecution’s questions with a written statement of 33 pages.
The prosecution maintains that another summons investigation of Lee is necessary to verify suspicions raised not only about Daejang-dong but also about the Baekhyeon-dong development project, but Lee is expected not to comply with an additional summons investigation.
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