"Raising an Issue Over Something From 10 Years Ago"
Lee Jinsook, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, who is suspected of privately misusing corporate credit cards during her tenure as president of Daejeon MBC, appeared before the police for questioning as a suspect. Lee strongly denied the allegations, claiming that the investigation was politically motivated.
At around 4 p.m. on the 5th, Lee entered Yuseong Police Station in Daejeon. In response to reporters asking whether she admitted to the allegations, she stated, "Bringing up something from 10 years ago and summoning me now is clearly for political purposes."
She went on to say, "Recently, Prime Minister Kim Minseok became prime minister without even submitting documents at his confirmation hearing. I have never used the corporate credit card for personal purposes, so I confidently disclosed all records, and in that sense, I actually regret it a lot. There is a political motive behind this," she emphasized.
She also said, "The reason I came for questioning today is because I saw articles saying, 'Why aren't the police investigating?' and 'Why are the police protecting Lee Jinsook?' I thought I had to come so that the police would not be negatively affected. I believed that I was not summoned before because there was no evidence of wrongdoing, but now that there is a change in government, I can't help but think that they are trying to make an issue out of this and punish Lee Jinsook in any way possible."
Lee Jinsook, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, who is suspected of privately misusing corporate credit cards during her tenure as president of Daejeon MBC, appeared at Yuseong Police Station in Daejeon on the 5th and answered questions from reporters. Photo by Yonhap News.
Lee concluded by saying, "I will faithfully undergo the investigation and explain myself," before entering the interrogation room.
Lee is accused of causing financial harm to the company by using corporate credit cards for personal purposes while serving as president of Daejeon MBC from March 2015 to January 2018, which constitutes occupational breach of trust.
This summons for questioning took place one year after lawmakers from the Democratic Party, who were members of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee at the time, filed a police complaint against Lee in July of last year. Civil organizations such as the National Union of Media Workers and the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media also filed complaints with the prosecution, arguing that there was strong evidence Lee used corporate credit cards for personal purposes. The police previously conducted search and seizure operations at Daejeon MBC and locations where the corporate cards were used, confirming records of the card usage.
It is reported that on this day, the police planned to verify the locations and purposes of Lee's corporate card usage.
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