'Defendant Lee Jae-myung Accused of False Statements Appears in Court, Responds to Reporters' Questions with "..."'

Charges of False Statements Against the Late Kim Moon-gi and Baek Hyun-dong

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was indicted on charges of making 'false statements' during the presidential election process, appeared in court as a defendant.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is accused of making false statements during the presidential election process, raises his hand as he attends the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 3rd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

At 10:40 a.m. on the 3rd, the Criminal Division 34 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kang Gyu-tae) held the first trial of Lee, who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act.

About 15 minutes before the trial began, Lee arrived at the Seoul Central District Court building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and did not respond to questions from waiting reporters such as "What do you think about the prosecution's charges?" and "Did you really not know Kim Moon-gi, the head of the office, during your tenure as mayor of Seongnam?" Instead, he went straight into the courtroom. When he departed from the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, at 9:35 a.m. that day, he also responded to related questions by saying, "The courtroom is open to the public, so it would be better to cover it in court."

Lee himself must appear in court for this and future trials. Unlike the four pretrial hearings held since October 18 last year, defendants are required to attend the trial sessions. In March alone, trials are scheduled on the 3rd, 17th, and 31st, every two weeks. Originally, Lee's first trial was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. but was adjusted to 10:40 a.m.

Separately from this case, the continuation of the trial on breach of trust charges related to the Daejang-dong development involving former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu, lawyer Nam Wook, and Kim Man-bae (major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management) was also held at 10 a.m. at the same court, Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Lee Jun-cheol). When asked by reporters about Lee's attendance at the Public Official Election Act trial, former Director Yoo said, "I will tell you later," before entering the courtroom.

Earlier, Lee was indicted on charges of publicly making false statements during an interview with a broadcasting company on December 22, 2021, when he was the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. He claimed that Kim Moon-gi, the late former head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, who was involved in the Daejang-dong development project, was a subordinate employee whom he did not know during his tenure as mayor. Kim was found dead in the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation office the day before Lee's statement. He was a key figure in the Daejang-dong development scandal and was under investigation by prosecutors.

Whether Lee knew Kim is considered a crucial clue to identifying the so-called 'upper echelon' in the Daejang-dong case. The prosecution believes that Lee received several face-to-face reports from Kim on major issues of the corporation, including the Daejang-dong development project, in the mayor's office.

Lee was also indicted on charges of making false statements regarding the 'Baekhyeon-dong preferential treatment suspicion.' During the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province on October 20, 2021, he allegedly made false statements about the preferential treatment suspicion related to the land use change of the Baekhyeon-dong Korea Food Research Institute site. He claimed, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requested the land use change, and we had no choice but to comply under the Special Act on the Relocation of Public Institutions," and "Since it was unacceptable for Seongnam City to gain billions of won in profits through the land use change, Seongnam City decided to secure some profits and attract office facilities, but the Ministry threatened to accuse us of dereliction of duty."

However, the prosecution's view is that Seongnam City never received a request for land use change from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and that it was the city's own decision.