Prosecutors to summon Lee Jae-myung today for 2nd questioning on 'North Korea remittance'... Limited investigation time is key

Governor's North Korea Visit Costs $3 Million and Split Donations Under Investigation
Arrest Warrant Possible Next Week... Lee's 'Health Condition' a Variable
Attention on Lee and Democratic Party's Choice on Arrest Consent Bill

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is accused of bribery involving a third party during the 'North Korea remittance' process, will appear at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Criminal Division 6 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam) on the afternoon of the 12th for a second investigation. The prosecution is expected to request an arrest warrant next week after completing the remaining investigation into the allegations against Lee during this session.

In legal circles, there is speculation that if the arrest consent bill passes and Lee undergoes a warrant hearing, his health condition, which has worsened due to fasting, could influence the court's decision. The fact that the defense attorney for Lee Hwa-young, former Deputy Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province, who is on trial for the North Korea remittance case, changed to Kim Kwang-min, a Democratic Party Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly member, and that Lee Hwa-young reversed his testimony related to Lee Jae-myung again, also poses a burden for the prosecution.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is continuing his 12th day of hunger strike, is drinking water on the 11th at the hunger strike tent in front of the main building of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The prosecution summoned Lee on the 9th for questioning, but the investigation was halted after 8 hours at Lee's request due to health reasons amid his fasting. After the investigation, the prosecution stated that Lee was consistently uncooperative during the questioning, while Lee criticized the investigation team for failing to present clear evidence.

During this investigation, the prosecution plans to confirm the following with Lee: ▲the allegation that Kim Sung-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, paid $3 million in travel expenses for Lee’s visit to North Korea in 2019 at the request of former Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young, who was then with Gyeonggi Province ▲various allegations of judicial obstruction related to the prosecution's investigation and trial ▲and the suspicion that Lee received split donations from former chairman Kim.

Lee’s side notified the prosecution that he would appear at 1:30 p.m., making the schedule tight even for the investigation related to the North Korea remittance allegations alone. The prosecution also needs to complete the review of the suspect interrogation record, which Lee refused to seal during the investigation on the 9th.

After the second investigation, the prosecution is considering requesting an arrest warrant for Lee by combining the charges related to the Baekhyeon-dong development corruption case investigated by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Attention is focused on the timing of the warrant request. The issue is Lee’s health condition as he enters the 13th day of fasting. If Lee does not stop fasting and his health deteriorates, he is likely to be hospitalized soon.

If the prosecution requests an arrest warrant under these circumstances, sympathy for Lee may arise, creating unfavorable public opinion for the prosecution. However, it is known that the prosecution is focusing on reporting the arrest consent bill on the 21st and voting on the 25th of this month, as submitting and voting on the bill in the National Assembly would only be possible in December if delayed beyond these dates.

Attention is also on what choice the Democratic Party will make regarding the arrest consent bill. Earlier, Lee clearly stated that if an arrest warrant is requested, he would waive his immunity and undergo the warrant hearing, but there are calls within the party, mainly from the pro-Lee faction, to reject the arrest consent bill.

If Lee requests Democratic Party lawmakers to pass the arrest consent bill and undergo the warrant hearing but the warrant is dismissed, the prosecution will face criticism of conducting a 'baseless political investigation' and lose momentum. On the other hand, if Lee leaves the vote on the arrest consent bill to the discretion of lawmakers and it is rejected, the Democratic Party will again be labeled a 'shield party,' and Lee will be criticized for "fasting to prevent the warrant request." In this case, even if the prosecution indicts Lee without detention, it will secure justification equivalent to an indictment with detention.