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Democratic Party of Korea chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung (The Korea Herald) |
The Democratic Party of Korea’s legally troubled Chairperson Rep. Lee Jae-myung went on a lengthy rant at a press conference Thursday, just days ahead of a National Assembly vote that could send the arrest warrant filed for him to court.
Lee, once again denying any wrongdoing, called the prosecutors’ investigations into corruption controversies from his time as Gyeonggi Province governor and Seongnam mayor “political propaganda.”
“What prosecutors said in the warrant request sounded like paragraphs out of People Power Party statements, rather than a legal argument,” he said, referring to the ruling party.
In the arrest warrant application, submitted last week, prosecutors said Lee abused his authority as the head of the municipal offices and allowed private developers to reap “significant profit,” at least 788 billion won ($615 million), from what was meant to be a public real estate project.
Several of the Democratic Party leader’s close associates have been arrested and indicted in related investigations so far. They include Lee’s longtime aide Jeong Jin-sang and Yu Dong-kyu, former head of Seongnam Development Corp., who once publicly supported Lee’s election campaign.
Lee is also accused of receiving 13.3 billion won in “sponsorships” from four companies for a soccer team operated by the city of Seongnam in exchange for favors, such as changing building permits or land use, the prosecutors said.
Prosecutors cited the gravity of the offenses and Lee’s continued denial of his role as one of the main reasons for requesting his arrest. There were “considerable grounds” to suspect Lee of the criminal activities, they added.
Over the rant that lasted 45 minutes, the Democratic Party leader hit back at prosecutors, accusing them of making up accusations to aide the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s “dictatorship.” Lee, Yoon’s opponent in the presidential election last year, accused the president of “rehashing” past controversies in a bid to “eliminate a political enemy.”
Lee pointed the finger at first lady Kim Keon Hee, who in a separate political scandal of her own is suspected of involvement in stock manipulation ranging from 2009-2012. “What about the wife of the president?” he asked.
The press conference came as the motion for an arrest warrant request for Lee is set to be introduced in the National Assembly on Friday and put to a vote on Monday. If more than half of the Assembly members present at the plenary session vote in approval, the motion will be passed.
As a sitting lawmaker, Lee is immune from the usual criminal justice process of arrest, and the court must have the consent of the National Assembly before it can review the warrant request.
As the Democratic Party holds more than half of the National Assembly seats, it is unlikely that the motion will pass. Rep. Jung Chung-rae, who serves in the party leadership as a member of the supreme council, has said on several occasions his party will “unite and vote the motion down.”
