Prosecution will indict me: opposition leader

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung, center, enters the Seongnam branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, Gyeonggi Province, to answer questions as a suspect in a bribery scandal, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps

Lee Jae-myung slams prosecution for being 'politically motivated'

By Nam Hyun-woo

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), said he was sorry to his fellow DPK lawmakers and supporters late Tuesday evening after being quizzed at the prosecutors' office.

“I'm sorry for keeping you waiting here,” he told DPK members who were waiting for him for several hours outside the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Gyeonggi Province. “I faithfully explained to them (about the suspicions).”

A crowd gathered in front of the prosecution's office. Lee was greeted by his supporters who had been waiting for him for several hours there. His opponents were also present and yelled profanities at him.

Lee paused a moment before he resumed his prepared speech as the two opposing sides were engaged in a war of words.

“There seems to be an answer regarding my future. They will indict me. I got that feeling all during the investigation,” he told his supporters. “The truth will be revealed. I saw the pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution, but none of it was convincing.”

Lee left the scene without taking any questions from the assembled crowd.

He had been questioned about his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal related to Seongnam FC, a football club run by Seongnam, a city just south of Seoul, when he served as mayor.

With the probe appearing to be at a critical juncture in his political career, Lee said he will “confidently stand up against” the investigation, because he “never did anything wrong” and “there is no reason to avoid it.”

Lee accused the prosecution of being “politically motivated,” claiming that he is a victim of entrapment by his enemies.

The DPK chairman appeared at the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office at 10:30 a.m. to be questioned as a suspect in the Seongnam FC scandal.

Prosecutors suspect that Lee, who served as Seongnam mayor from 2010 to 2018, was involved in the scandal in which companies such as Doosan E&C and Naver provided 17 billion won ($13.7 million) to sponsor the football club between 2016 and 2018. In return, the city has been accused of granting business favors to the businesses, such as issuing construction permits.

Prosecutors said the practice constitutes “an unfair request” and reportedly secured evidence showing that the city demanded sponsorship money.

Lee stressed that police already investigated the case for three years and failed to find any incriminating evidence. He also claimed that the investigation constitutes “an unprecedented persecution” of the main opposition party.

“The reason why today's summons is an unprecedented persecution is not because of the fact that this is the first warrant issued against the main opposition party leader in the country's Constitutional history,” Lee told reporters before entering the prosecutors' office. “It is because this is a judicial coup to bring up a case again which ended without charges after years of investigation and to fabricate a nonexistent crime.”

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, center, places his hand on his lip in a gesture to silence protesters in front of the Seongnam branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap

Lee stressed that an individual cannot benefit from the sponsorship money due to the financial structure of Seongnam FC, adding that efforts by the football club's employees to attract advertisements only benefited the citizens of Seongnam.

“As the Seongnam mayor, I attracted businesses to the city and secured tax revenues, and the employees of Seongnam FC saved taxpayers' money by attracting advertisements. Does that deserve criticism?” Lee asked. “If the prosecution exploits its power like this, how can the leader of a municipality attract businesses to the city and develop it?”

Lee described himself as the victim of political retaliation.

“Former President Kim [Dae-jung] became the scapegoat of political plots that he conspired a rebellion and former President Roh [Moo-hyun] suffered from conspiracy theories that he received bribes,” Lee said. “It was not a legal risk for them. It was the risk of the prosecution and coup staged by the prosecution.”

The DPK cried foul over the prosecution's summoning of Lee and called the move a “blatant persecution of the main opposition party.”

“[The ruling bloc] speaks about the rule of law, but its true intent is eliminating President Yoon Suk Yeol's political enemies and suppressing the opposition party with an iron fist,” DPK floor leader Park Hong-keun said during a National Assembly meeting. “Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan also touted the rule of law while menacing their victims.”

Including Park, more than 40 lawmakers and senior DPK officials accompanied Lee to the prosecutors' office.

“Under the prosecution's ruthless oppression of Chairman Lee, the lawmakers of the DPK define this as a political retaliation against the chairman of the main opposition party and a rival of the president,” Park told reporters.

Supporters of main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung and conservative civic group members stage rallies in front of the Seongnam branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, when Lee appeared to answer questions as a suspect in a bribery scandal. Joint Press Corps

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) denounced Lee's statement and the DPK's outcry.

“We cannot sympathize with the [DPK's] rants about political retaliation or targeted investigation, which is based on a wrong interpretation of judicial justice,” PPP spokesperson Yang Kum-hee said.

“From the Seongnam FC scandal to the Seongnam land development scandal and allegations of attorney fees, Lee continues to face legal risks, and today's investigation is just the start,” Yang added.

The prosecution is largely expected to decide whether to indict Lee over the Seongnam FC case by the end of this month at the latest. The Seongnam land development scandal alleges that a few small private asset management companies were allowed to reap astronomical investment profits from a real estate development project in the city, with Lee being involved in that process.