The court to review witness testimonies over the next month
Lee Jaemyung: "The prosecution fabricated statements using special investigation techniques"
Prosecution: "He joined hands with corrupt private businessmen for success"
The camp of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the prosecution engaged in a fierce battle of nerves during the trial renewal procedure following the change of the trial panel in the 'Daejang-dong case.' The court decided to proceed with six renewal procedures by the end of next month.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is entering the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 11th to attend the continuation of the first trial regarding the allegations of corruption in the development of Daejang-dong, Baekhyeon-dong, and Wirye New Town, as well as the Seongnam FC sponsorship fund case. 2025.03.11 Photo by Yoon Dong-ju
The Criminal Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jin-gwan) began the renewal procedure on the 11th by hearing statements from the prosecution and the defendant's side in Lee's trials related to the Daejang-dong, Wirye, Baekhyeon-dong, and Seongnam FC cases. The renewal procedure means reviewing the previous trial contents after the change of the trial panel.
On that day, Lee himself was given the opportunity to speak and said, "You can tell if a forest is a pine forest from afar, but if you enter the forest and start analyzing DNA and looking for traces, it becomes difficult to know what kind of forest it is." He added, "The prosecution's indictment is that 'you could have earned more, so why did you only earn this much? Therefore, it is embezzlement.' I want to point out whether it is reasonable that this was created by suppressing the testimonies of related parties using so-called special investigation techniques."
The prosecutor stated the gist of the indictment, saying, "Lee was so obsessed with building his achievements and fulfilling his pledges that he did not care about the profits of Daejang-dong. He concluded that if it could be a stepping stone for political success, he had no choice but to join hands with corrupt private businessmen." He added, "He responded to private businessmen who contributed to the establishment of the corporation and the re-election of the mayor of Seongnam and proceeded with the criminal acts of this case while sharing interests with private businessmen who would provide political funds needed on a bigger political stage."
In response, Lee's defense counsel refuted the prosecution's indictment point by point. Lee's side claimed, "The prosecution is asserting false facts or maliciously distorting the facts to cause the court to have a preconceived notion or prejudice of guilt."
After continued tension between both sides regarding the trial renewal procedure, the court designated every Tuesday from the 25th of this month to the 29th of next month as renewal dates. The court will grant two dates each to the prosecution, Lee, and Jeong Jin-sang, former chief of political coordination in the party leader's office, conducting renewal on the contents of witness examinations over a total of six dates.
Lee's side proposed proceeding by having both the prosecution and the defendant testify for each witness before moving on to the next witness. They argued that renewal should be conducted in the same manner as witness examinations, with direct and cross-examinations, to prevent the court from forming prejudgments.
The prosecution said, "The prosecutor should notify the gist of the examination for all witnesses, and the defendant's side should proceed. If it goes as Lee's side claims, the renewal procedure might become longer. It also goes against the recent amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act. We regret that the renewal procedure, which was organized in the last session, seems to be scattered again."
In response, the court decided to proceed according to Lee's side's proposal for key witnesses, including former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu, but to proceed uniformly according to the prosecution's proposal for the remaining witnesses.
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