Lee "I will come on the 12th" vs Prosecution "Investigation this week"... Another showdown over Lee Jae-myung's appearance

After twice refusing the prosecution's summons, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, notified the prosecution on the 6th that he would appear for questioning next Tuesday (the 12th), but the prosecution again requested that he appear within this week. The standoff between both sides over the summons schedule continues even after Lee began his hunger strike.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, investigating Lee's bribery allegations related to the Ssangbangwool Group's 'illegal remittance to North Korea,' stated, "Today, we received notification from Lee's legal counsel that he will appear for questioning on the 12th," adding, "Since Lee has previously failed to appear twice and his hunger strike is hindering the suspect investigation, we requested that the suspect questioning be conducted within this week (from Thursday the 7th to Saturday the 9th) at the latest."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is meeting and conversing with former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won at the tent in front of the National Assembly main building, where he is on a hunger strike on the 6th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

This is the third time that the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office and Lee's side have engaged in a standoff over the summons schedule. Previously, after opening an investigation against Lee, the prosecution notified him on July 23 to appear for questioning on August 30, but Lee's side responded the next day, July 24, that he would appear for questioning.

In response, the prosecution rejected this and again notified Lee on the 1st to appear on the 4th. Lee's side stated that appearing on the 4th was impossible and that he would appear sometime between the 11th and 15th. Then, suddenly changing their position, they notified that Lee would appear on the 4th and be questioned for only two hours in the morning, would not be available for further questioning in the afternoon due to National Assembly schedules, and would complete the remaining questioning between the 11th and 15th. The prosecution replied that they could not stop the investigation after only two hours on the morning of the 4th and would proceed with the full prepared investigation. Lee's side then conveyed that appearing on the 4th would be difficult.

With the prosecution again rejecting Lee's side's request to appear on the 12th, it is currently difficult to predict when the investigation will take place. Lee's health condition during his hunger strike could also be a variable.

The Ssangbangwool Group's illegal remittance to North Korea allegations involve former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Seong-tae sending a total of 8 million USD to North Korea in 2019 at the request of former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young. This included 5 million USD for a North Korean smart farm support project that Gyeonggi Province was supposed to fund and 3 million USD for the then-Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung's visit to North Korea, which North Korea requested. The prosecution recently registered Lee as a suspect on charges of third-party bribery, believing he was involved in Ssangbangwool's payment on his behalf.

Lee Hwa-young, who was arrested and indicted on charges of receiving bribes and political funds from former Chairman Kim, had denied the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance allegations but partially reversed his testimony during a prosecution investigation in June, stating that he "requested Ssangbangwool to promote the Gyeonggi Governor's visit to North Korea."

He also reportedly testified that he reported to Lee Jae-myung at the time, "Ssangbangwool spent money in North Korea while doing business, so we (the governor's office) probably also paid attention."

Meanwhile, in a recent high-level personnel reshuffle at the prosecution, Hong Seung-wook, head of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office who had been leading the investigation into this case (28th Judicial Research and Training Institute class), was promoted to head of the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office. His successor as head of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office is Shin Bong-soo (29th class), who had served as head of the Anti-Corruption Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and led special investigations nationwide, appointed as of the 7th.