hankyoreh

Prosecutors and investigators with the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office enter the office of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung’s secretariat in the National Assembly building in Yeouido, Seoul, to execute a search and seizure warrant on Nov. 9. (Kim Gyoung-ho/The Hankyoreh)

Prosecutors launched a compulsory investigation Wednesday into alleged bribery and other charges against Jeong Jin-sang, a close associate of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung who serves as chief of the political coordination office for Lee’s secretariat.

This came a day after they arrested and indicted another close associate of Lee’s, Institute for Democracy deputy head Kim Yong, on charges of illegally receiving presidential election funds. They conducted simultaneous raids on the Democratic Party headquarters in Seoul’s Yeouido neighborhood and offices at the National Assembly building.

Coming at a time when the top opposition party has been demanding a parliamentary audit to investigate a recent deadly crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood, the prosecutors’ resumption of their compulsory investigations triggered an outcry from the Democratic Party, which described them as “the administration and prosecutors colluding in the hopes of turning their fortunes around.”

On Wednesday morning, the first anti-corruption investigation division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office under chief prosecutor Eom Hui-jun received and executed court warrants to conduct searches and seizures on the Democrat Party leader’s secretariat and offices in the National Assembly building as part of an investigation into charges that include bribery according to the Anti-Corruption Act and Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes.

In charges similar to those against Kim, prosecutors suspect Jeong of receiving 140 million won (US$102,000) in kickbacks between 2013 and 2020 for special benefits to private operators during New Town projects carried out in the Daejang neighborhood of Seongnam and the Wirye area, which includes parts of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

The search and seizure warrant was also confirmed to include charges of conspiring with the operators to share profits from the Daejang development project (acceptance of bribery after an illegal action).

The raid on the Democratic Party headquarters was the second in 16 days, coming after a previous one on Oct. 24. This time as well, prosecutors finally entered the headquarters after a nearly five-hour confrontation with party staff attempting to stop them, only to leave empty-handed after a search lasting two-and-a-half hours.

“They conducted forensic analysis on five computers in the headquarters but withdrew after confirming that the computer used by Mr. Jeong was not present,” a party official explained.

“This over-the-top investigation came even after we explained to the prosecutors beforehand that Mr. Jeong does not even have a desk at the party headquarters because he does not work there,” they added.

Also targeted for a raid was the party leader’s secretariat, which is located in the National Assembly building. After holding back initially in response to a request from National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo — who suggested that the matter be handled through the voluntary submission of materials because of the “symbolism” of the National Assembly building — the prosecutors finally entered the secretariat on the building’s second floor to conduct the search and seizure at around 6 pm.

The Democratic Party called the prosecutors’ actions a “political show meant to deflect the public’s anger over the Itaewon tragedy.”

Speaking at a meeting of the party’s supreme council presided over by Lee Jae-myung, supreme council member Lim Sun-suk said, “These renewed search and seizure attempts as soon as the mourning period for the Itaewon tragedy ended are the result of collusion between the administration and prosecutors, who hope to deflect the public’s anger through a politically retaliatory investigation.”

“We sternly condemn the Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration’s use of a prosecutors’ dictatorship and political oppression to find a way out of its comprehensive crisis,” she said.

By Kang Jae-gu, staff reporter; Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]