Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is involved in the ‘suspicion of sending money to North Korea’ and is suspected of third-party bribery, will appear at the prosecution for the second time on the afternoon of the 12th and be reinvestigated. This is the sixth prosecution investigation following the first investigation into suspicions of illegal donations to
Seongnam FC , suspicions about the development of Wirye and Daejang-dong, suspicions of preferential treatment for the development of Baekhyeon-dong, and suspicions of remittances to North Korea.
Representative Lee arrived in front of the back gate of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, at around 1:21 pm on this day, got out of his vehicle, and bowed to his supporters.
He looked more emaciated than during the first survey on the 9th.
He got back into the car he came in, moved to the front of the government building, and revealed his position to reporters.
Representative Lee said, “I am not foolish enough to commit such a serious crime as asking a corrupt businessman who was an unknown gangster and illegal loan shark to give a large amount of money, as much as 10 billion won, to North Korea in order to visit North Korea and take a picture. “He said.
He then said, “Today is my second appearance at the prosecution, and I will see if I can present evidence that I am involved.”
Representative Lee said, “Over the course of two years, we mobilized personnel the size of a single prosecutor’s office, hundreds of investigators from dozens of prosecutors’ offices, conducted hundreds of search and seizures, and investigated hundreds of people, changing topics from payment of attorney fees to smart farms to payment of travel expenses to North Korea, but there was only one piece of evidence. “I couldn’t find a single one,” he claimed, “because it’s not true.”
He then emphasized, “No matter how hard you try to call me out and make me look like a criminal, facts that don’t exist cannot be created,” and “The people and history will judge and judge.” He added, “I ask you to take care of the difficult livelihood and economy that the people are experiencing, and to focus more on protecting the lives and safety of the people rather than neglecting the peace crisis on the Korean Peninsula.” He added, “The regime is short, but the people and history are eternal.” .
Representative Lee slowly stated his position for about four minutes in a somewhat tired voice.
When asked by reporters, “Did you just pay for the smart farm project in North Korea without even reading it? Did you approve it?” Representative Lee responded in a firm tone, “It’s not true at all.”
The suspicion of Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea was raised by Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, in 2019, at the request of former Gyeonggi-do Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young, including $5 million in support project expenses for the creation of a North Korean smart farm that Gyeonggi-do should have paid, as well as $3 million in expenses for the Gyeonggi-do governor’s visit to North Korea requested by North Korea at the time. It states that a total of 8 million dollars was sent to North Korea.
Prosecutors believe that Representative Lee used North Korea’s humanitarian aid as an excuse to promote support for North Korea, including support for smart farms, support for seedlings and flour worth 1.5 billion won, and additional support of 100,000 tons of rice to facilitate the governor’s visit to North Korea.
The gist of the third-party bribery charge against Representative Lee is that he intended to solidify his political base through the governor’s visit to North Korea, and that Kim, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, borne a significant portion of the costs incurred for this trip.
Representative Lee is known to have answered some questions at length during his last primary investigation, unlike during previous prosecution investigations.
There were many statements that deviated from the point of the question, but when presented with an official document from Gyeonggi Province approved by the provincial governor or a document promoting Ssangbangwool’s North Korea project, he replied to the effect that he was not aware of it, saying, “Lee Hwa-young promoted the North Korea project on his own.”
He is said to have drawn a line with former Chairman Kim, saying, “He runs a corrupt business and is a former gangster. I will not meet someone like that.”
The prosecution prepared a significantly reduced questionnaire of about 30 pages in consideration of Lee’s health condition. The plan is to complete the investigation within three hours.
The second investigation is expected to investigate issues such as the Gyeonggi Province Governor’s payment of $3 million for his visit to North Korea, suspicions of obstruction of justice surrounding former Vice Governor Lee’s trial and investigation, and former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae’s alleged donations.
As with the last time, the investigation on this day will be conducted by Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office Criminal Division 6 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam), Deputy Chief Prosecutor Song Min-kyung (43, 37th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), and Prosecutor Park Sang-yong (42, 38th class). Medical staff and ambulances will be deployed in case of emergency. Attorney Park Gyun-taek (21st class), former chief prosecutor of the High Prosecutors’ Office, was admitted as the defense lawyer.
It is expected that the intention to sign and seal the suspect’s interrogation report, which was rejected during the first investigation, will also be confirmed.
It is known that the prosecution plans to immediately begin reviewing whether to request an arrest warrant without additional summons, even if the investigation into Representative Lee cannot be completed due to various variables.
The prosecution said in a text message sent to the media immediately after Representative Lee’s appearance, “Considering Representative Lee’s health situation, we plan to conduct an intensive investigation as quickly as possible focusing on the key facts regarding the major charges and conclude the investigation today.”
On this day, about 250 supporters of Representative Lee, including members of the Democratic Innovation Association, and about 30 members of the Patriotic Patrol Team, a conservative group, gathered around the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office building and held a counter-rally.
There was no major conflict between the two sides. The police deployed about 490 personnel around the building to prepare for any emergency.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party held a general meeting of lawmakers that day and fiercely criticized the prosecution for notifying Representative Lee, who has been on hunger strike for 13 days, of a re-summoning investigation.
In his plenary remarks, floor leader Park Gwang-on said, “The prosecution’s successive summons and investigation of the main opposition party leader who is fasting is something we have never seen before,” adding, “Regardless of whether (Representative Lee) is suspected or not, many people are concerned about this behavior of the prosecution.” “I think it’s excessive,” he pointed out.
Secretary-General Jo Jeong-sik also said, “It is unprecedented in history to summon an opposition party leader during a fast, and we have summoned Lee Seok-yeol again, who is in a state of difficulty even on the 13th day of fasting.” He criticized it as “judicial brutality by a political prosecutor.”
Secretary-General Cho also said, “In the past, the ruling party even pretended to be concerned when the opposition leader fasted,” and “But now, they are plastering it all over with ridicule and criticism. I find it truly shocking and heartbreaking.”
Rep. Park Beom-gye, chairman of the party’s Prosecutors’ Dictatorship and Political Oppression Countermeasure Committee, said, “I am confident that the arrest warrant that the prosecution will request again will be dismissed (by the court), but we must now look at this case from a new perspective스포츠토토.” “I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t let it go to their lair, I couldn’t let it into their jaws,” he said.
Regarding this, some within the party interpreted this as an argument that if the motion for Representative Lee’s arrest is submitted to the National Assembly, it should be rejected at the plenary session.
Spokesperson Park Seong-joon said in a written briefing issued during the General Assembly, “(During the investigation on the 9th) the prosecution is carrying out a mean media play to disparage the leader of the main opposition party, saying, ‘They even wrote down Representative Lee’s words to himself.’ “Are you trying to murder the personality of the opposition leader because it’s not enough?” he said.
He said, “It is absurd to see the prosecution’s behavior of misrepresenting Representative Lee’s criticism with self-talk in order to justify an investigation as empty as an empty can.” “I feel angry at the meanness,” he said.
Representative Kim Han-gyu met with reporters after the general meeting of lawmakers and said, “Many lawmakers shared concerns about the problems with the prosecution’s investigation and Representative Lee Jae-myung’s fasting.” He added, “In particular, it is quite dangerous for Representative Lee to continue his fast, so we ask that he stop. “There was talk that opinions should be gathered and conveyed to (CEO Lee),” he said.
When asked whether the issue of voting on the motion to arrest Representative Lee was also addressed, he said, “There was no such part. The party’s position on the motion for arrest is that ‘it is inappropriate to discuss it now.’ “It is not appropriate to talk about it,” he emphasized.
Regarding the plan to handle controversial bills such as the Public Broadcasting Governance Improvement Act (3 Broadcasting Acts), floor spokesperson Kim said, “A plenary session is scheduled for the 21st, and the party’s position is that we will push for the 3 Broadcasting Acts and the Yellow Envelope Act,” and “We will persuade the Speaker of the National Assembly.” “The leadership will do its best to submit the bill and vote on it,” he said.