Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the MDP, who the prosecution singled out as the culmination of the allegations of "corruption in the development of Wirye and Daejang-dong," was notified of the subpoena investigation.
According to the legal profession on 16 June, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) and the 3rd Division (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) informed Lee to come to the prosecutor's office on 27 March for investigation on charges such as breach of trust, violation of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Conflict-of-Interest Prevention Act.
It has been six days since he was investigated by the Seongnam District Office of the Suwon District Public Prosecutor for "alleged sponsorship to Seongnam FC."
Prosecutors suspect that Lee, who exercised the final say as mayor of Seongnam in connection with the corruption case in the development of Daejang-dong, made a huge profit of 404 billion won by providing convenience to private contractors and caused damage to Seongnam City.
It is believed that Lee may have been involved in the process in which then-Seongnam Mayor Policy Secretary Jeong Jin-sang promised to provide business convenience to private contractors in Daejang-dong and receive 42.8 billion won out of development profits, and received various election funds.
The prosecutor's office is also investigating allegations that Lee was involved in the process of leaking internal information about Seongnam City to private contractors in advance during the 2013 Wirye New City project.
Lee is expected to discuss with party leaders whether to attend the prosecutor's office. It is also possible that he will not comply with the prosecutor's summons.
When Lee was being investigated by the Seongnam Branch Office on 10 March for alleged sponsorship to Seongnam FC, he reportedly submitted a written statement on six A4 sheets and answered most of the prosecutor's questions by saying, "I will change the contents of the written statement."
In the legal profession, there is an observation that Mr. Lee will show a similar attitude of statement in the case of the allegations of Wirye and Daejang-dong.
Representative Lee said that there was no problem with the Daejang-dong development project, saying that it was a "successful case of public buyback."
The allegations that the aides received various illegal funds included "slapping the name of the political prosecutor," adding, "They did not take a single private profit. I have no shame in looking up to heaven."
Prosecutors are considering filing an arrest warrant with the alleged Seongnam FC sponsorship case after completing their investigation.
However, since Lee is an active member of the National Assembly and is currently in session of the National Assembly, he must go through the National Assembly arrest consent process to secure his recruits. Given the current parliamentary landscape with the Democratic Party holding a majority, the motion to arrest Lee is likely to be voted down. [YonhapNews]
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