Hong Joon-pyo and Lee Jun-seok: "Another Death, Truly a Strange Coincidence" Targeting Lee Jae-myung

'Lee Jae-myung Lawyer Fee Payment Suspicion' Recording Whistleblower Found Dead
Hong: "An Incident That Could Only Happen in Movies or Dramas"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is announcing industrial sector policy pledges at the Korea Industrial Technology Promotion Association in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 12th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] As the whistleblower who first raised the 'allegation of attorney fee payment on behalf' against Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, passed away on the 12th, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and party member Hong Joon-pyo cast suspicious glances toward the candidate.

On the same day, Lee shared a related article on his Facebook and wrote, "I don't know why such tragic events keep happening." He added, "I don't even expect Lee Jae-myung to say anything about this person," and urged, "Let's watch and be angry."

Hong also posted on Facebook, "Another death," stating, "A key witness related to Lee Jae-myung's case has died again, whether by extreme choice or disguised murder under the guise of extreme choice is unknown."

He continued, "It's a series of strange coincidences for it to be mere chance," adding, "Following two related to Daejang-dong, now another suspicious corpse related to the payment of lawsuit fees has been found. This chain of deaths linked to gangsters, which could only be seen in movies or dramas, must be thoroughly investigated this time."

A post by Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, on December 12 regarding the death of the whistleblower in the alleged lawyer fee payment on behalf of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate. / Photo by Hong Joon-pyo (captured from Hong's Facebook)

According to reports on the 12th, the Yangcheon Police Station in Seoul found Mr. Lee, who was found dead at a motel in Yangcheon-gu at around 8:40 p.m. on the 11th. Mr. Lee was the person who reported to the civic group Awake Citizens Solidarity Party (Kkaesiyon) a recording related to allegations that attorney Lee, who handled Lee Jae-myung's violation of the Public Official Election Act case in 2018, received 300 million KRW in cash and stocks worth over 2 billion KRW as attorney fees.

Lee Jae-myung was tried for about two years from 2018 until his acquittal was confirmed in the retrial in October 2020. During this process, multiple attorneys were appointed, but since Lee's assets reportedly decreased by only about 300 million KRW before and after the trial, allegations of fee payment on behalf arose.

Kkaesiyon stated, "Even though ten law firms were appointed, including former Supreme Court justices and prosecutors turned attorneys, Lee's assets hardly decreased. If investigated by authorities, the attorney fees paid by Lee could approach 10 billion KRW, which does not align at all with his public official asset declaration," and on October 7 last year, they filed a complaint against Lee for false statement publication. This case is currently under investigation by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office.

Regarding the allegations, Lee denied them during the national audit last year when he was governor of Gyeonggi Province, saying, "I transferred all attorney fees, and the amount is a little over 250 million KRW," adding, "(The legal team) mostly consists of colleagues from the Judicial Research and Training Institute, university friends, and law school friends. I paid all the fees to the attorneys who actually participated in the defense."

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