Legal and political risks deepen for opposition leader
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, enters a meeting room with other members of the Supreme Council at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Prosecutors searched the former office of Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Monday, amid growing criticism of his party leadership ahead of the general elections early next year.
Investigators from the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office searched the office of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, in which he previously served as governor, over accusations of misuse of government credit cards for personal expenses.
The prosecution suspects that Lee and his wife, Kim Hye-kyung, were aware of the unlawful use of taxpayers’ money when his former staff purchased sushi, sandwiches and other items for them between July 2018 to October 2021 when he was in office.
This comes only four days after Kim Yong, a close aide to Lee, was sentenced to five years in prison for bribery and illegal political fundraising involving property developers during a lucrative development project in Seongnam while Lee was the city’s mayor from July 2010 to March 2018.
The Seoul Central District Court said in its ruling that some of the money he raised was later used for Lee’s campaign for the 2022 presidential election, which bodes ill for Lee’s own trial connected to that case.
This photo, taken Monday, shows investigators searching an office of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government over allegations that government credit cards were misused while Lee Jae-myung was serving as its governor. Yonhap
The growing legal risk for Lee now appears to be dividing the DPK ahead of elections set for April 10, 2024. Reformers are intensifying criticism of his leadership, while members of a majority faction rally behind him, vowing to be tough on “betrayers” and telling them to leave the party.
Rep. Lee Sang-min, a five-term lawmaker, became the first major figure to leave the party on Sunday. In a message sent to reporters, he said he had no hope for any positive changes in the DPK under the current leader after it lost its sense of morality.
In an interview with the Joongang Ilbo, a Korean daily, Lee Nak-yon, a former prime minister who competed with the current chairman to become the DPK’s candidate for last year's presidential election, also echoed such criticism, saying that the party no longer treats its ethics codes seriously, instead protecting certain politicians.
He also hinted at launching a new political party with some like-minded lawmakers in order to “minimize harmful effects” from the polarized two-party system. “I’m thinking about the things I could do for the country … Once the conclusion is made, I will do what I have to do.”
Speculation is circulating that other heavyweight figures such as former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and former National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun are now in talks with Lee Nak-yon to part ways with the DPK.
Speaking to The Korea Times, experts said the chairman’s leadership in the party will likely remain stable, at least in the short term, despite the growing legal risks and criticism.
“Given that the majority of lawmakers think they would have better chances of winning under Lee, his leadership will likely remain stable, at least for a while,” Lee Jun-han, a professor of politics at Incheon National University, said. “But if he is convicted of some of the many charges facing him — possibly before the elections — his leadership will be shaken profoundly.”
If that happens, a bigger challenge would come after the elections. If he loses the right to run for public office with a guilty verdict, it would be extremely difficult for him to maintain current support levels as a politician with no chances of becoming president, the scholar said.