hankyoreh

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung attends a meeting of the party’s Supreme Council on Feb. 16 at the National Assembly. (Kim Gyoung-ho/The Hankyoreh)

On Thursday, prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, over accusations of preferential treatment in relation to the Daejang neighborhood development case and the solicitation of support funds for Seongnam’s football club.

This marks the first time in the history of Korea’s constitutional government that an arrest warrant has been sought for the head of a main opposition party. There are concerns that this issue will become a “black hole” of sorts that will render many pending issues in the National Assembly that concern the livelihoods of citizens irrelevant.

Prosecutors are seeking Lee’s arrest on charges of breaches of duty by enabling operators involved in the Daejang neighborhood development project to gain unfair profits thereby causing the city of Seongnam to face damages in the amount of 489.5 billion won (US$300 million) and third-party bribery for allegedly receiving 13.35 billion won from four companies in the jurisdiction, including Doosan Engineering & Construction and Naver, in the name of donations and advertising expenses.

On the other hand, the allegations recently highlighted by prosecutors that Lee was to acquire profits (42.8 billion won) allocated to Cheonhwa Dongin No. 1, an affiliate of the Hwacheon Daeyu asset management company involved in the development project in Daejang, have been excluded from the charges.

If Lee did indeed breach his duty, he would have had a specific motive, so it is odd that the suspicions surrounding the equity agreement have been excluded from this request for a warrant, even taking into account the fact that this is still being investigated. It is not surprising that some are characterizing prosecutors’ move as a “piecemeal warrant request” to make up for insufficient investigation findings.

Whether there is even a reason for an arrest is also a controversial topic, in light of the principle of investigation and trial without detention. The prosecution service has stated that there is the risk of Lee and his aides “destroying material evidence.” Lee and his aides have refuted that there is no evidence to destroy, as sufficient search and seizures, as well as investigations of those involved, have been conducted over a long period of time.

Prosecutors also claim that Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Sung-ho’s remark that “at this rate, Lee will become president” during a meeting with former head of the political affairs coordination office at Lee’s secretariat Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong, former deputy head of the Institute for Democracy, who have since been arrested and imprisoned, are circumstantial evidence pointing to the possible destruction of evidence.

It is hard to deny that prosecutors are using the media to sway public opinion by sharing the content of this meeting right before requesting the arrest warrant for Lee.

Above all, it is difficult to rule out the possibility that investigation by prosecutors will be used as a means of political oppression, seeing that the subject of their arrest warrant is the leader of the main opposition party. This is why the Constitution states that “no member of the National Assembly shall be arrested or detained without the consent of the National Assembly” during session, and why more caution should be taken so as to not raise questions about the appropriateness and context of the warrant request.

This development has already sparked fierce battles in the political world. Lee stated that “today is the day that the rule of law has collapsed in the ruling party’s attempt to get rid of their political opponents,” while the ruling People Power Party stated that “this was something bound to happen” and pushed for the approval of the arrest motion.

Both the ruling party and the opposition parties should follow the procedures set by the Constitution and laws and demonstrate moderation so that other pending issues do not get stuck in limbo.

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