Lee Jae-myung "Ruthless Regime Uses Political Prosecution for Petty and Violent Retaliation"

Suwon District Prosecutors' Office States Position on Summons Notice for Former CEO and Spouse

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung recently responded to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office's summons for himself and his wife Kim Hye-kyung regarding allegations of 'private misuse of Gyeonggi Province corporate cards,' calling it a "cowardly act of retaliation by the regime using political prosecutors."

On the same day, Lee appeared at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 (Presiding Judge Kim Dong-hyun) for a trial on charges of witness tampering. When asked by reporters, "You received a summons from the prosecution right after the motion to impeach the prosecutor was proposed. What is your position on this?" he replied accordingly.

Former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Jae-myung, is answering reporters' questions before attending the continuation of the first trial related to the 'Perjury Instruction Charge under the Public Official Election Act' held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 8th. [Source=Yonhap News]

Lee said, "This case has already undergone hundreds of searches and hundreds of summonses over several years, and a decision of no charges was made." He added, "However, I believe the ruthless regime is using political prosecutors to carry out cowardly and violent acts of retaliation."

He continued, "Nevertheless, I will wisely endure and overcome even these petty actions of this regime together with the people."

After getting out of the car and holding an umbrella himself as he headed to the courtroom, Lee did not respond to further questions from reporters such as "When are you considering appearing (before the prosecution)?" "There is strong backlash after the motion to impeach the prosecutor was proposed; do you still intend to push forward with the impeachment?" and "You also mentioned legal countermeasures; could you elaborate?" Instead, he immediately entered the courthouse.

Earlier, on the 4th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office notified Lee and his wife to appear as suspects for investigation regarding allegations of corporate card misuse.

At that time, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office stated, "We have been conducting investigations, including questioning related parties, regarding the case of alleged private use of Gyeonggi Province budget by the former governor of Gyeonggi Province and others. This summons is a routine investigative procedure based on the Criminal Procedure Act, intended to hear the statements of the parties involved and provide an opportunity to clarify the alleged charges. The prosecution will handle the case based on evidence and legal principles."

Meanwhile, on the morning of the same day, Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, while attending a 'Voice Phishing Crime Prevention and Response Measures Meeting' held at the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA) in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, avoided directly answering reporters' questions about the summons of Lee and his wife, saying, "Today is a meeting for mutual consultation with telecom companies to prepare voice phishing prevention measures, so I will not comment on current issues."

When reporters asked again if this was a tactic to change the situation, he briefly replied, "This is a routine investigative procedure."