hankyoreh

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, responds to questions from reporters while visiting Mangwon Market in Seoul on Jan. 18. (Kim Gyeong-ho/The Hankyoreh)

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung will be appearing before prosecutors on Jan. 28, as part of an investigation regarding accusations of favoritism in relation to the Daejang neighborhood development case.

After visiting Mangwon Market in Seoul on Wednesday, Lee met with reporters and said, “Political prosecutors who abuse the authority of the prosecution for private interests by creating crimes that don’t exist and covering up crimes that do: the public is watching, and history will judge.” He added, “Nevertheless, since [the prosecution] technically holds power and is using that very power, I will come as they ask despite having no fault.”

On Monday, two divisions within the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (SCDPO), informed Lee to appear at the prosecution on Jan. 27 or 30, after the Lunar New Year holiday. In response, Lee announced he would make his appearance on Jan. 28, a Saturday, citing work obligations during the week “due to many pending agendas.”

Lee called on his fellow Democratic lawmakers to “devote yourselves to party affairs and state affairs” during his appearance for questioning. Accompanied by a lawyer, Lee said he would “confidently go and face” the prosecutors.

The Democratic Party confirmed that Lee will appear at the SCDPO at 10:30 am on Jan. 28.

The prosecution suspects that Lee, during his time as Seongnam mayor, provided preferential treatment to private companies in the Daejang neighborhood, such as the one owned by Kim Man-bae, allowing them to make unfair profits worth 404 billion won (US$326.6 million).

On Wednesday, Lee refuted the accusation, commenting, “I did my best to restitute as much development gains as possible by opting for public rather than private development.”

“How can restituting [development gains] for the sake of Seongnam citizens be malfeasance?” he asked.

Meanwhile, the People Power Party (PPP) urged Lee to cooperate with the investigation. PPP spokesperson Park Jeong-ha said, “Instead of swaying the hearts of the public through false logic on the streets, [Lee should] conscientiously cooperate with the investigation.”

By Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter; Oh Yeon-seo, staff reporter

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