Deputy Chief Prosecutor Who Led Investigation into 'Lee Jae-myung Seongnam FC Allegations' Abruptly Resigns... Controversy Spreads (Comprehensive)

Seongnam City Responds "Cannot Disclose" to Assemblywoman Kim Eun-hye's Office Data Request

Lee Jae-myung, Owner of Seongnam FC

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The deputy chief prosecutor who was leading the investigation into allegations that companies bribed 성남FC under the pretext of sponsorship funds during Lee Jae-myung's tenure as mayor of Seongnam suddenly resigned, sparking widespread controversy over the background of his resignation.

According to the legal community on the 26th, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Ha-young of the Seongnam Branch Office resigned the day before the prosecution personnel reshuffle. Park posted on the prosecution's internal network 'Eprose' stating, "I tried to find other ways to continue working, but after much thought and attempts to respond, there was no other way." He also attached a file of himself singing Deulgukhwa's 'If I Live'.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park led the investigation into the sponsorship fund allegations involving SeongnamFC. The case involves claims that during Lee's time as mayor of Seongnam, six companies paid over 16 billion won to SeongnamFC as sponsorship funds in exchange for permits and approvals in Jeongja-dong, Seongnam. The police investigated the case for three years and three months and decided not to prosecute due to insufficient evidence in September last year, but the accuser objected and the case was forwarded to the prosecution.

Park expressed the need for supplementary investigation by the police at that time, but it is known that conflicts arose as superiors, including Park Eun-jung, head of the Seongnam Branch Office, discouraged this and pushed for the case to be closed. Park Eun-jung is known as a 'pro-government' figure who led the inspection when Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, was disciplined by the Ministry of Justice during his tenure as Prosecutor General.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch issued a statement the day before denying these allegations of conflict. The branch stated, "(Regarding the SeongnamFC case) the Seongnam Branch is reviewing the investigation records of both the branch and the police according to law and principles," emphasizing, "It is not true that there was an order to close the investigation or that requests for supplementary investigation were blocked."

Meanwhile, Seongnam City has remained silent on the allegations. The office of Kim Eun-hye, a member of the People Power Party, requested data from Seongnam City on December 29 last year regarding the SeongnamFC sponsorship fund allegations, but the city responded on the 17th that "the data cannot be disclosed."

An official from the lawmaker's office said, "It can only be seen that Seongnam City is refusing the data, just as it did during the Daejang-dong gate when former Mayor Lee Jae-myung refused to provide materials."

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