Main opposition party leader keeps low profile amid prosecution's investigation
Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung, center, speaks during the party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
Lee's vice chief of staff indicted on bribery charges
By Nam Hyun-woo
Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has been out of the public eye for a while, rarely setting up meetings, luncheons or dinners with fellow lawmakers. The main opposition party leader even skipped the press conference for the 100th day of his leadership, a tradition that his predecessors had observed to celebrate the milestone.
Those who are familiar with Lee say his keeping a low profile could be related to the prosecution's ongoing investigation into corruption cases, including a land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, during his time as mayor of the city.
On Friday, the prosecution indicted Jeong Jin-sang, Lee's vice chief of staff, on charges of having received bribes as well as his involvement in other corruption cases.
After Jeong's indictment, the prosecution will likely aim its crosshairs at Lee to find out whether he was involved in the land development scandal or not. In the search warrant on Jeong, the prosecution described his relationship with Lee as “a political community.”
Before Jeong, Kim Yong, the deputy head of the DPK's Institute for Democracy think tank, was indicted last month on charges of having taken hundreds of millions of won in illegal political funds from property developers. During the process of investigating Kim, the prosecution's investigators staged skirmishes with DPK members who tried to block them from entering the DPK's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul.
Jeong Jin-sang, center, vice chief of staff to Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung, answers reporters' questions before his arrest warrant review at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, Seoul, Nov. 18. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yun
The ongoing investigation and the indictment of his confidants have left Lee quiet. He has been careful not to speak about sensitive political issues or the investigations and has tried not to stand out.
On his Facebook page, his latest posts were about the cost of living, the National Assembly's role in addressing the unionized truckers' strike, congratulatory messages on Korea's national football team and a request for Korean American U.S. lawmakers' help in reflecting Seoul's stance on the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. All of those posts are about ongoing issues but are not politically controversial topics. They do not contain sharp criticisms about the ruling party.
On Dec. 5, when Lee marked his first 100 days as the party's chairman, he did not hold a press conference, citing partisan gridlock over the 2023 national budget and debates over reprimanding the safety minister over his responsibility in the Oct. 29 Itaewon crowd crush disaster.
Analysts say the real reason behind his skipping of the anniversary presser may be because of the ongoing corruption investigations.
News reports are even suggesting that Lee is avoiding meetings these days in order to prevent others from becoming targets of the prosecution.
“Lee is trying not to have lunch or dinner with others these days, because a growing number of people are becoming the subject of investigation because of him,” broadcaster CBS reported, citing an unnamed aide to Lee.
Against this backdrop, voices are growing within the DPK that Lee's legal issues are spilling over onto the entire party.
“Despite President Yoon Suk-yeol's mismanagement, the DPK's approval rating is lagging behind the ruling party's, and many of the party members, who are not political hooligans supporting Lee, are watching this situation with disappointment,” DPK Rep. Lee Won-wook wrote on Facebook.
The lawmaker also said in an interview with CBS that “the limit will come when the public no longer sees the ongoing investigation as political persecution and accepts it is possible.”
DPK Rep. Kim Jong-min also said he is unable to find Lee's achievements in the past 100 days.
Such opinions are confined mostly to members of the anti-Lee faction within the DPK currently, but concerns are growing that the party may have to consider an interim leadership in February, in order to brush off the legal cloud hovering over the DPK due to its chairman and prepare for the 2024 general election.