Gangho Lee, Mayor of Namdong-gu, Incheon, 'Bribery Charges' Warrant... Allegations of Land Purchase Cost Payment

Gangho Lee, Mayor of Namdong-gu, Incheon

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Lee Gang-ho, mayor of Namdong-gu, Incheon, has had an arrest warrant requested on charges of accepting bribes by having a co-owner pay costs during the process of purchasing land when he was a city council member.

The Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Incheon Police Agency announced on the 15th that they have requested a pre-arrest warrant for Mayor Lee on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violations of the Political Funds Act.

The police also requested an arrest warrant for Mr. A, a teacher at a lifelong education facility in Incheon, on charges of offering bribes and illegal political funds to Mayor Lee.

Mayor Lee is suspected of receiving half of the 4,141㎡ land share in the Taean-gun area of Chungnam Province from Mr. A around 2015-2016, when he was a member of the Education Committee of the Incheon City Council.

Although the land registry shows that Mayor Lee and Mr. A jointly purchased the land, the police believe that Mr. A paid approximately 50 million won of the land purchase cost that Mayor Lee was supposed to pay. Except for 18㎡ of residential land, the rest is farmland (paddy fields), and the price at the time was known to be about 110 million won.

The police also uncovered allegations that Mayor Lee received illegal political funds amounting to tens of millions of won from Mr. A and used them for election expenses, and are conducting an investigation.

Additionally, they are examining whether the 'Ordinance on Support for Lifelong Education Facilities Recognized for Academic Credit by the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education,' which Mayor Lee proposed as a representative in 2015 while serving as an Incheon city council member, involved any quid pro quo.

The ordinance provides budget support in the form of subsidies to lifelong education facilities recognized for academic credit. The lifelong education facility where Mr. A works received about 1.29 billion won in support in 2015, but after the ordinance was enacted, the support increased significantly to about 2.03 billion won in 2016.

Earlier in April this year, the Namdong Peace Welfare Solidarity in Incheon filed a complaint with the police accusing Mayor Lee of real estate speculation regarding the land in question.

At that time, Mayor Lee explained, "I purchased the land jointly with Mr. A, with whom I had a friendly relationship, intending to farm and live there in my old age. We grew various crops such as soybeans, but after assuming office as mayor in 2018, I had little time and paused cultivation activities," adding, "The speculation allegations are groundless."

After being reported to the police, Mayor Lee appeared twice for questioning but is said to have completely denied the charges of bribery and other allegations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.