Lee Jae-myung Absent from Prosecution but Expected to Be Indicted... Family Hopes for Leniency, Peak This Week

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The wave of legal scrutiny targeting Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and his family is expected to reach its peak this week. The prosecution, investigating allegations of violation of the Public Official Election Act against Lee and his wife Kim Hye-kyung, must conclude the investigation and deliver a final verdict within three days due to the statute of limitations. Legal circles widely anticipate that Lee and Kim will be indicted.

Lee, who faces charges of "false statement publication" related to remarks made during the last presidential election campaign, did not comply with the prosecution’s summons on the 6th. Instead, he sent his written responses to the written inquiry received on the 19th of last month from the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyun) the day before.

However, the written response is unlikely to significantly influence Lee’s fate. Regardless of whether an investigation takes place, the prosecution is reportedly planning to indict Lee on charges of false statement publication under the Public Official Election Act. Since the prosecution has already requested a summons for the party leader, it is believed that the necessary investigations have been completed internally and that there is confidence in proving the charges. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office examined Lee’s statements during the presidential campaign, including his claim on broadcasts that he did not know the late Kim Moon-gi, the head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, a key figure in the Daejang-dong development project, and his remarks during last year’s National Assembly audit and elsewhere that he was "not informed" about the deletion of the clause on excess profit recovery from Daejang-dong. The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch also investigated Lee’s statement that "the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport forced him" regarding the cooperation letter received from the ministry during the development, related to allegations of preferential treatment in changing the land use of Baekhyeon-dong site. All these cases have a statute of limitations expiring on the 9th, requiring a decision on indictment before then.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office is also likely to indict Lee soon over allegations of "lawyer fee payment on his behalf." This case also has a statute of limitations expiring on the 9th. Lee was accused of having tens of millions of won in legal fees paid on his behalf to dozens of lawyers through convertible bonds (CB) from Ssangbangwool Group. During the last presidential campaign, he stated that he spent 30 million won on lawyer fees, which led to a false statement publication charge filed by civic groups. The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office is investigating this case together with the Ssangbangwool Group embezzlement and breach of trust case to clarify the background of the convertible bonds provided by Ssangbangwool Group as stated in the indictment.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The wave of legal scrutiny is not expected to stop with Lee alone. His family members are also under investigation by the prosecution and police. The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office is expected to soon indict Lee’s wife Kim on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act for allegedly misusing Gyeonggi Province’s corporate card. After Lee officially declared his candidacy for the party’s presidential primary, Kim dined with three wives of Democratic Party lawmakers at a restaurant in Seoul on August 2 last year, paying about 100,000 won with the Gyeonggi Provincial Government’s corporate card. Regarding this, the Public Investigation Division of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jung Won-doo) summoned Bae, who worked as a special employee at Gyeonggi Province and served as Kim’s personal secretary, for over 12 hours of questioning the day before. Bae, a key figure in the corporate card misuse allegations, was handed over to the prosecution as an accomplice of Kim.

Lee’s eldest son, Lee Dong-ho (30), is also reportedly facing imminent police investigation. The Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency, investigating allegations of illegal gambling against Lee Dong-ho, recently notified him of a summons and is coordinating the investigation schedule for early to mid-this month. Lee Dong-ho was reported to the police last December by the YouTube channel Garoseoro Research Institute (Gaseyeon) on charges of habitual gambling and violations of the Game Industry Act and the National Sports Promotion Act.

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