Vote on Arrest Approval D-4, Prosecutors Scrutinize Warrant Details of Lee (Comprehensive)

Press Conference on the 23rd, About 50 Minutes of Denying Charges
"Arrest Warrant Without Lee Jae-myung, Abuse of Power Is a Crime"
"They Want to Show Me Handcuffed" Criticism of Prosecution Investigation

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Park Joon-yi] On the 23rd, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press conference and criticized point by point for about 50 minutes the unfairness of the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution regarding the allegations surrounding him about Seongnam FC sponsorship funds and the Wirye and Daejang-dong development corruption. With the vote on the arrest consent bill against him at the National Assembly plenary session on the 27th just four days away, this is interpreted as an effort to emphasize the inevitability of its 'rejection.' He also sharply criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol, saying, "Abusing the given power not for the people and the nation but for private interests, eliminating political opponents, or strengthening power is a criminal act."

In the press conference held ahead of the National Assembly vote on the arrest consent bill on the 27th, Lee said, "It is an era of violence where judicial hunting disguised as the rule of law is becoming the norm," and condemned, "Politics has disappeared, and an era of barbarism where only domination runs rampant has come again."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, Lee focused on refuting the charges listed in the prosecution's arrest warrant against him point by point. He emphasized, "The Seongnam FC case started investigation in 2018, but all were dismissed with no charges," and added, "A case that was dismissed suddenly turned into a serious case warranting arrest." He pointed out that the Daejang-dong case was the same. He said, "Even the Park Geun-hye administration was thoroughly investigated but found no problems," and "After the presidential election ended, the investigation team and prosecutors changed, and the number of investigators increased, then suddenly it became a case warranting arrest."

He emphasized that such prosecutorial recklessness is a 'karma the loser must bear' because he lost the presidential election.

Lee evaluated the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution as "an arrest warrant without Lee Jae-myung," saying, "There is almost no subject 'Lee Jae-myung' in it." He continued, "Looking back, the last presidential election seemed to be a historic turning point. I lost because I was lacking in the election, and I thought the humiliation and suffering I must endure as an individual because of that defeat are my share and karma, so I must bear them fully." Lee criticized, "However, what the winner, President Yoon Seok-yeol, and the Yoon Seok-yeol administration are doing now goes beyond my greatest imagination," and "I once again urge them to work for the better lives of the people."

He again pointed out the lack of details in the charges in the warrant requested by the prosecution. He raised his voice, saying, "An arrest warrant with almost no subject 'Lee Jae-myung,' an arrest warrant without Lee Jae-myung," and "Looking at such an absurd warrant, I think it is not a warrant to persuade the judge but a propaganda material for public propaganda." This is interpreted as emphasizing that the investigation against him is an unreasonable 'political investigation.'

Lee said, "The reason for summoning for investigation is not to get a confession but to present evidence to make one unable to move. (However) there was no new evidence. Even when asked to present evidence (to prove guilt), they cannot present it," and criticized, "They wanted to show the image of Lee Jae-myung waiting in detention after the warrant hearing or Lee Jae-myung handcuffed."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the prosecution summoning him three times this year alone, he said, "They could have done a written investigation, but they insisted on summoning. Even if I accept that, why summon two or three times?" and "They probably wanted to show that there is something (to justify the summons) by summoning so many times." He criticized, "If they summoned, there should be a reason for the new summons," and "(However) they called me all day, asked the same questions, asked what the meaning of words was, dragged out the time, read related documents, and spent time like that."

He also appealed against the unfairness of being charged with 'breach of trust' in the Daejang-dong project. Lee said, "I ask the people to judge once," and "Why did Lee Jae-myung do 'public-private joint' development instead of private or public development and only recovered 550 billion won? If I had given 100% to the private sector and recovered nothing, would that have been a breach of trust?" He said, "The warrant says I colluded with the Daejang-dong gang to give business rights and make money, but if I had granted private development as the developer wanted, it would have been neat," and "But I promoted public development and tried to recover 100% of the development. (In the end) Aren't all the people who benefited from Daejang-dong from the People Power Party?" He strongly refuted, "Did Lee Jae-myung receive money? Did anyone around me receive any benefits besides some slandered people?"

Although Lee repeatedly claims his innocence, concerns about the prolongation of his 'judicial risk' and the resulting vacuum remain inside and outside the party. For now, the arrest consent bill against Lee is expected to be rejected, but the problem is what comes next. The prosecution is expected to request arrest warrants not only for the Seongnam FC sponsorship and Daejang-dong development favoritism allegations but also for future cases such as lawyer fee payments and North Korea remittances, so the 'time of the National Assembly' to vote on arrest consent bills is likely to continue. If this happens, the Democratic Party will have to bear the fatigue from prolonged judicial risks and the burden of being labeled a 'bulletproof party' alone.

A first-term lawmaker from the Bimyeong faction lamented, "Many lawmakers see that if this continues, our party's elections will be difficult." Kwon No-gap, senior advisor of the Democratic Party and an elder of the Donggyo-dong faction, also said the day before, "Several arrest consent bills (against Lee) will come to the National Assembly in the future, but this time we must unite and follow the decision made at the party meeting regarding the arrest consent bill," and "Next time, I hope he will face it proudly and confidently and show a responsible attitude of putting the party before oneself as a representative of the Democratic Party's historic tradition."