Four Lawyers for Lee Jae-myung Receive Advisory and Retainer Fees from Gyeonggi Province or Its Affiliated Organizations

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate. Photo by the National Assembly Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] It has been revealed that four lawyers from the defense team representing Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, in his violation of the Public Official Election Act case, received advisory fees and legal fees while serving as counsel lawyers for Gyeonggi Province or its affiliated organizations during Lee's tenure as Governor of Gyeonggi Province.

Previously, Lee claimed that the total legal fees paid to the defense team of about 30 lawyers amounted to 250 million KRW. However, it has been confirmed that some of these lawyers received advisory fees or took on other cases from Gyeonggi Province or its affiliated organizations, over which Lee could exert influence, causing a significant stir.

On the 13th, according to materials submitted by Park Soo-young, a member of the People Power Party, from Gyeonggi Provincial Government and others, lawyers Na Seung-cheol, Lee Seung-yeop, Kang Chan-woo, and Lee Tae-hyung, who were part of Lee's defense team, served as counsel lawyers for Gyeonggi Province and its affiliated organizations starting from January 2019.

Lee was indicted and tried for violating the Public Official Election Act from late 2018, after being elected Governor of Gyeonggi Province, until last year. During the period when these lawyers handled his criminal trial defense, they were simultaneously engaged in counsel activities for Gyeonggi Province or its affiliated organizations.

Lawyer Na Seung-cheol, who handled the case from the first trial to the retrial, worked as a counsel lawyer for Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation, Gyeonggi Art Center, and others from January 2019 to this year, receiving advisory fees totaling 21.98 million KRW. Additionally, Na received litigation fees amounting to 208.19 million KRW from Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency.

Lawyer Lee Seung-yeop, who participated in the first and second trials, was appointed as a counsel lawyer for Gyeonggi Province in December last year and took on six cases, receiving a total of 95.04 million KRW in legal and advisory fees.

Lawyer Kang Chan-woo, who participated as a defense lawyer in the first trial, received 15.61 million KRW from Gyeonggi Province as advisory and litigation fees, while lawyer Lee Tae-hyung, who participated from the first trial to the retrial, received about 7.54 million KRW in advisory fees. Lee Tae-hyung, currently active in Lee's campaign, has been reported to the prosecution regarding allegations of paying Lee's legal fees on his behalf.

Meanwhile, among Lee's defense lawyers, some did not personally receive advisory or legal fees, but lawyers from their affiliated law firms received counsel fees or litigation costs from Gyeonggi Province or its affiliated organizations. Between 2020 and last year, Han-gyeol Law Firm, to which lawyer Song Doo-hwan, who participated in Lee's Supreme Court appeal, belongs, received 96.1 million KRW from Gyeonggi Housing Corporation; Dasan Law Firm, where lawyer Kim Chil-jun belongs, received 70.8 million KRW from Gyeonggi Provincial Government and Gyeonggi Agricultural and Fishery Promotion Agency; Deoksu Law Firm, where lawyer Kim Hyeong-tae belongs, received 30.1 million KRW from Gyeonggi Housing Corporation; and Jihyang Law Firm, where lawyer Baek Seung-heon belonged, received 26.7 million KRW from Gyeonggi Housing Corporation.

This raises suspicion that instead of receiving legal fees for Lee's case or receiving only minimal fees, economic benefits were provided to their affiliated firms through other channels, effectively substituting for Lee's legal fees.

Among them, lawyer Kang issued a statement on the day, acknowledging that he signed an advisory contract in his name, but explained that the monthly advisory fee of 200,000 KRW was regularly received into the corporate account, and litigation fees were also deposited into the corporate account, effectively making it an advisory contract with the corporation.

Park said, "If the allegations that Lee's legal fees were paid with public funds are true, it is a very serious matter."

The Public Investigation Division of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Jong-hyun) is currently investigating the case in which the pro-Moon group 'Awakened Citizens Solidarity Party' reported lawyer Lee Tae-hyung regarding the suspicion of paying Lee's legal fees on his behalf. The case, initially reported to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, was assigned to the Public Investigation Division 2 of Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, but Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating the Daejang-dong scandal, separated the case and transferred it to Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, sparking controversy over the 'willingness to investigate.'

In particular, it was revealed that Chief Prosecutor Kim of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Public Investigation Division worked at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Public Security Division from February 2010 to February 2012, while the subject of the investigation, lawyer Lee Tae-hyung, served as head of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Public Security Division from August 2010 to August 2011, leading to criticism that Chief Prosecutor Kim should recuse himself from the case.

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