'Day 9' Lee Jae-myung Attends on 10th Day of Fasting... Acceptance After Third Tug-of-War (Summary)

Yeo "Regret over Prosecutors' Anti-Constitutional Behavior Denying Legislative Activities"
"Lee Jae-myung Will Stand Firmly"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has decided to appear at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on the 9th in connection with the allegations of 'Ssangbangwool Group's remittance to North Korea.' Until now, Lee and the prosecution had shown disagreements over the schedule and method of summons, resulting in two postponements of the investigation. After the third tug-of-war, Lee announced that he would attend on the date requested by the prosecution, so he is expected to face the prosecution on the 10th day of his hunger strike.

Park Sung-jun, spokesperson, held a briefing at the National Assembly on the morning of the 7th regarding Lee Jae-myung's appearance before the prosecution and stated, "Lee will appear at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on Saturday, the 9th."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is greeting Kim Eun-kyung, former Innovation Committee Chair, who visited the hunger strike tent in front of the National Assembly main building on the 7th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The day before, the prosecution demanded that the suspect's investigation be conducted by the end of this week at the latest and requested Lee's side to appear between the 7th and 9th. Lee's side had previously said they would appear on the 12th of next week, citing schedules such as the National Assembly's government questioning sessions on the 7th and 8th and an outdoor rally on the 9th.

Spokesperson Park said, "The prosecution repeatedly ignored the National Assembly and eventually demanded an unprecedented coercive summons, asking Lee to forgo his obligation to attend the regular National Assembly session and appear. Moreover, the date requested by the prosecution falls during the government questioning period, which focuses intensively on the failures of the Yoon Seok-youl administration," adding, "We express deep regret over the prosecution's unconstitutional behavior that denies constitutionally mandated legislative activities."

When asked by reporters about the reason for Lee's change of stance, Spokesperson Park replied, "Previously, we said it would be good to appear on Saturday, but it was not accepted, so the idea of appearing around the 11th came up. However, when the prosecution again requested the 6th, 7th, or 8th, which is during the government questioning period, Lee decided to appear on Saturday, when there is no National Assembly schedule, to undergo the investigation."

There is speculation that the burden of having failed to coordinate the schedule with the prosecution and missing two appearances also played a role.

In response to reporters' questions about whether the prosecution's stance of requesting an arrest warrant if Lee fails to appear three times was considered, Spokesperson Park said, "Isn't the prosecution engaging in political acts? Political acts aimed at inducing division," adding, "The prosecution claims they have conducted sufficient investigations, so whether it is at the end of August or on a Saturday, what is the problem? It is unreasonable."

Spokesperson Park emphasized, "While they behave despicably, we will proceed with dignity," and said, "Lee will appear before the prosecution on the 9th, right after the government questioning, and will boldly confront the reckless summons by the Yoon Seok-youl administration."

Regarding Lee's health during his indefinite hunger strike, it was reported, "He is gaunt and struggling, but as the party leader, he says he can overcome it well." He added, "The leader's position is to 'sincerely cooperate with the prosecution's investigation and confront it boldly.'"