"Will Nominate You for District Councilor"... Prosecution Indicts Assemblyman Lee Sang-heon Without Detention for Violation of Political Funds Act

Illegal Political Fund Receipt of 41 Million Won Under the Pretext of Nomination

Lee Sang-heon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has been brought to trial on charges of receiving illegal political funds.

Lee Sang-heon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Photo by Yonhap News]

The Criminal Division 5 of Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Yoon-jung) indicted Lee on the 27th without detention on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. Four others, including A, the head of Lee's election campaign headquarters, and B, the accounting officer, who face the same charges, were also indicted without detention.

According to the prosecution, Lee is accused of promising C that if C helped his campaign during the June 2018 by-election for the Ulsan Buk-gu National Assembly seat, he would nominate C for the proportional representation district councilor position in the 7th local elections in Ulsan Buk-gu. Subsequently, Lee allegedly received a total of 22 million won in cash political funds from C under the pretexts of by-election candidate interview expenses, intra-party primary deposit, and election activity expenses.

Additionally, when C applied for the proportional representation nomination but was eliminated during the screening process, Lee promised to nominate C for the proportional representation district councilor position in the 8th local elections and received 14 million won in cash political funds from C under the pretext of election campaign vehicle rental costs.

Furthermore, after being elected in the 2018 by-election and the 2020 21st general election, Lee is investigated to have received 5 million won in political funds from C, who expected the fulfillment of the promise for nomination as a proportional representation district councilor in the next local elections, under the pretext of congratulatory money for his son's wedding.

The prosecution's investigation began in May last year after C issued a statement condemning the "Democratic Party's secret collusive nomination," followed by the receipt of a related complaint the next month.

A prosecution official stated, "This is a crime involving a National Assembly candidate and a sitting member of the National Assembly promising nominations in local elections and receiving illegal political funds," adding, "We will make every effort to maintain the prosecution to ensure punishment commensurate with the crime."