hankyoreh

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, reads a statement as he appears outside the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office in Seongnam on Jan. 10 for questioning regarding support funds to Seongnam FC. (pool photo)

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung appeared before prosecutors Tuesday to answer questions about allegations concerning support funds for the Seongnam Football Club.

This marks the first time in the history of South Korea’s constitutional government that the sitting leader of the top opposition party has been summoned for questioning by prosecutors.

Lee blasted the move as a “judicial coup d’etat,” claiming the prosecutors were “making up nonexistent charges by dredging up a case that they had already investigated for years but never found grounds for pressing charges on.”

He also vowed to “stand up and triumph against these politicized prosecutors.”

Lee appeared in front of the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office at around 10:30 am that day.

“We are now standing at the scene of an unprecedented incident in the history of the Republic of Korea’s constitutional government. This occasion today will go down in history,” he said in a prepared statement.

Lee is accused of third-party bribery for actions as the owner of the Seongnam FC between 2016 and 2018, when he was mayor of the city. During this time, he is accused of soliciting over 16 billion won (US$12.85 million) in support funds from companies such as Doosan Construction and Naver in exchange for favors such as building permits and land use alterations.

The police previously decided in September 2021 not to press charges on the matter due to a lack of evidence, but the investigation was reopened in February 2022 when the prosecutors called for a supplementary probe.

Lee disputed the prosecutors’ claims that his actions represented “third-party bribery.”

“When Seongnam FC employees attract advertising, that only benefits the people of Seongnam through reduced taxes. It isn’t a system where the funds can get funneled off into someone’s pockets,” he said.

“[The prosecutors] are insisting on characterizing expenditures on advertisements based on lawful advertising contracts as a form of ‘free support,’” he added.

“It is infuriating to see this sort of attitude from the prosecutors, who are so single-mindedly focused on getting rid of Lee Jae-myung that they don’t care if it means the collapse of local government and proactive administration,” he said.

In his denunciation of the prosecutors, Lee singled out investigations against leading figures in the Democratic Party and its previous incarnations, including late former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.

“Kim Dae-jung was accused by rebels of the nonexistent crime of ‘conspiracy to commit rebellion,’ while Roh Moo-hyun was harassed by accusations of plotting with things like the so-called ‘rice paddy watch’ episode,” he said.

“Was what they went through an example of ‘judicial risk’? It was ‘prosecutor risk’ and a ‘prosecutors’ coup d’etat,’” he added.

He went on to say that his summoning for questioning was a “trap laid by politicized prosecutors.”

“The prosecutors have already figured out their answer, and that answer is ‘indictment,’” he continued.

Lee was accompanied on his visit to the prosecutors’ office that day by around 40 others, including Democratic Party lawmakers and members of the party leadership. On opposite sides of the street, Lee’s supporters and opponents held rallies, with one side calling for an “end to manufactured targeted investigations by prosecutors” and the other for Lee’s arrest.

Members of the People Power Party were critical of Lee’s remarks.

In a Facebook post, the party’s interim leader, Chung Jin-suk, wrote, “Seeing the shameless appearance by Lee Jae-myung only left me feeling ashamed for him.”

Floor leader Joo Ho-young said, “The investigation cannot be prevented or stopped with the power and authority of the number one party.”

By Lim Jae-woo, staff reporter; Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter; Sun Dam-eun, staff reporter

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