Prosecutors to Decide as Early as Today Whether to Indict Lee Jae-myung for 'False Information Disclosure'

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is moving to the party leader's office at the National Assembly on the 6th while answering questions from the press. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution is expected to decide as early as the 8th whether to indict Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is accused of spreading false information related to the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong scandals during the last presidential election period.

According to legal circles, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyun) and the Criminal Division 3 of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch (Chief Prosecutor Yoo Min-jong) will conclude the cases against Lee, who is accused of spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act, on that day.

Lee was investigated by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for statements made during an interview with a broadcasting company during the presidential election period, in which he claimed not to know the late Kim Moon-gi, Development Section Chief 1 of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, a key figure in the Daejang-dong development project, and for remarks related to the deletion of the Daejang-dong excess profit recovery clause, such as "I was not informed" and "After the selection of the preferred negotiator, it cannot be changed recklessly as the Board of Audit and Inspection may impose sanctions," made during last year's National Assembly audit.

Additionally, on October 20 of last year, during the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province, Lee was investigated by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch for his statement regarding the Baekhyeon-dong site use change preferential treatment allegations, where he said, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport forced us to do it," referring to a cooperation letter received from the Ministry during development, to verify whether this statement was false.

The statute of limitations for these cases expires at midnight on the 9th. Legal circles expect the prosecution to handle Lee's cases collectively on the 9th, as it is a holiday marking the start of the Chuseok holiday, when the prosecution can still operate. There is stronger momentum toward indictment rather than non-prosecution. Since Lee has been notified of a summons for investigation, it is believed that the prosecution is confident in proving the charges and has likely decided to indict him based on this.

On the 6th, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office also conducted a search and seizure at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government related to Lee's statement that he did not know the late Kim Moon-gi, Development Section Chief 1. In particular, investigators went to the office of Team Leader A, who was in charge of public relations during Lee's tenure as mayor of Seongnam, to collect materials. It is known that the prosecution launched the search and seizure to verify the circumstances and truthfulness of Lee's statement.

Meanwhile, Lee's spouse, Kim Hye-kyung, may also be indicted on the same day. Kim is under investigation by the Public Investigation Division of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jeong Won-du) for violations of the Public Official Election Act and breach of trust in the course of duty. Since the statute of limitations for the Public Official Election Act violation case also expires on the 9th, the investigation is expected to conclude on that day.

Kim is accused of violating the Public Official Election Act (restriction on donation acts) by providing meals worth about 100,000 won to three party-related personnel, her driver, and lawyer at a restaurant in Seoul on August 2 of last year, after Lee declared his candidacy for the party's presidential primary.

She is also accused of breach of trust in the course of duty for knowingly allowing Bae Mo, a close aide and former Grade 5 special employee at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, to pay for her meals using the Gyeonggi Provincial Government corporate card from July 2018 to September 2022, during Lee's tenure as governor of Gyeonggi Province. The total misuse of the corporate card by Bae is estimated to be about 150 cases, amounting to approximately 20 million won. Of these, about 20 cases, worth around 2 million won, are directly related to Kim.

The police, who first investigated the case, concluded that there was an implicit conspiracy between Bae, the direct user of the corporate card, and Kim, who is suspected to be the superior, and referred Kim to the prosecution as a co-conspirator in this case. The prosecution also summoned Kim for questioning yesterday afternoon.

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