People's Party lawmaker to be questioned Wednesday

Attack first, take questions later. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

A lawmaker from the People’s Party, who played a major role in former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo’s campaign, faces questioning Wednesday over a fabrication scandal.

The Seoul Southern Prosecutors’ Office will summon Rep. Lee Yong-ju for questioning at 3 p.m. over the case, in which at least two party members allegedly colluded in fabricating a voice recording and instant messaging transcripts that they gave to party leaders.

Based on the fake “evidence,” the leaders accused then-presidential candidate Moon Jae-in of helping his son get a job at a government agency in 2006, while he was working for former President Roh Moo-hyun at Cheong Wa Dae.

Lee was one of the leaders who spearheaded the attack against Moon, comparing his son to Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil who is now on trial over corruption allegations linked to former President Park Geun-hye.

“We want to find the truth more than anyone,” party spokeswoman Kim Yoo-jung said. “We urge the prosecution to thoroughly investigate the case and not to speculate.”

“Lee told us he will faithfully cooperate with the investigation.”

Prosecutors will investigate whether Lee knew the recording was faked and, if not, how much he tried to verify its authenticity before attacking Moon using it.

They are also looking into other heavyweights in the party, including Ahn and former leader Park Ji-won, over their possible roles.

Party member Lee Yu-mi has already been indicted on charges of fabricating the recording and messages with her brother. Lee Jun-suh is still under suspicion of knowingly allowing her to do so and giving them to party leaders.

If prosecutors conclude Lee Yong-ju was also directly involved in the fraud, the scandal, which is already the biggest crisis the party has faced, may kill its future.

Polls show the party may have already crossed the Rubicon.

According to local pollster Realmeter, Monday, its approval rating was 5.1 percent, the lowest among the five major parties. Given that it has 40 out of 300 parliamentary seats, it is a miserable record. Some polls show it is lagging behind the Liberty Korea Party even in the Jeolla provinces, the base of most of its parliamentary seats.

In another poll, when asked about the fabrication scandal, 71.5 percent of people said they believe it was systematic deception, whereas only 13.9 percent said they think Lee Yu-mi did it by herself.

The prosecution will reveal the results of its investigation after questioning Lee Yong-ju.