Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Orders Seongnam Branch to "Conduct Supplementary Investigation on Seongnam FC Allegations"

Members of the People Power Party on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee visited the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 3rd to protest the 'allegations of covering up the investigation into illegal sponsorship funds of Seongnam FC.'

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] On the 7th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office announced that it has instructed the Seongnam Branch to conduct supplementary investigations regarding the Seongnam FC sponsorship fund case, which is embroiled in allegations of investigation cover-up.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office stated, "After holding a meeting of all chief prosecutors, it was concluded that 'the current investigation results of the Seongnam FC allegations are somewhat insufficient to determine guilt or innocence, so supplementary investigations are necessary to decide on the charges.' Accordingly, the Seongnam Branch was directed," it said.

The Seongnam FC sponsorship fund allegations involve Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, who, during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam, was the club owner of Seongnam FC and allegedly secured sponsorship funds of about 16 billion won from companies such as Doosan and Naver, which in turn received conveniences like building permits. This matter was reported in 2018, and the Seongnam Bundang Police Station decided not to indict Lee last September after about three years and three months.

Subsequently, the accuser filed an objection, and the Seongnam Branch received the case and has been reviewing whether to investigate. During this process, it is reported that Park Eun-jung, head of the Seongnam Branch, repeatedly rejected the investigation team's requests for supplementary investigations into the Seongnam FC allegations, causing conflicts. Due to this, suspicions have also been raised that Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Ha-young, who was in charge of the investigation, tendered his resignation last month.

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