"Double Dragon, Prosecutors Indicate Evidence of Lee Jae-myung's Lawyer Fee Payment... Main Investigation Continues"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] While the prosecution decided not to indict Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act related to the 'allegation of lawyer fee payment on behalf,' it explicitly mentioned the possibility of Ssangbangwool Group paying lawyer fees, drawing attention to future investigation trends.

According to the non-indictment decision document of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office obtained by the legal community and this outlet on the 18th, the prosecution emphasized that the amount Lee allegedly paid to the lawyers handling the 2018 Public Official Election Act violation case was "an unusually small amount compared to ordinary fees," and judged that legal fees were likely delivered by other means beyond this amount.

Lee is suspected of having paid a large sum of legal fees, including convertible bonds from Ssangbangwool Group, to his lawyers during his trial for violating the Public Official Election Act in 2018 while serving as Governor of Gyeonggi Province. He claimed to have spent 300 million KRW on lawyer fees, but the civic group "Awakened Citizens Solidarity Party" accused him last October of lying, alleging that he actually gave about 2 billion KRW in cash and stocks to a specific lawyer, and filed a complaint with the prosecution for false statement under the Public Official Election Act.

On the 8th, the prosecution decided not to indict Lee on the grounds of insufficient evidence regarding this complaint but stated, "There are numerous circumstances supporting the possibility that payments beyond the amounts revealed so far exist."

Through evidence records such as transcripts and investigations, the prosecution confirmed that lawyer Lee, who took the lead in defending the 2018 election law case, received 12 million KRW in legal fees, and noted that some lawyers received smaller fees than usual, not ruling out the possibility that additional fees were secretly paid. During the analysis of convertible bond issuance records and seized items issued by Ssangbangwool Group around the same time, the prosecution wrote in the non-indictment decision document that "there were suspicious circumstances of embezzlement, breach of trust, and money laundering related to the irregular issuance and circulation of convertible bonds," and "it is difficult to exclude the possibility that these profits were paid as lawyer fees."

Furthermore, "It was confirmed that these lawyers were appointed as outside directors of Ssangbangwool Group affiliates and as advisory lawyers to the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, where Lee served as governor (including subordinate organizations), receiving advisory fees and outside director salaries," and "there is also a possibility that these advisory fees were paid under the name of lawyer fees," the document stated.

Despite such strong suspicion, the prosecution noted that the statute of limitations for violating the Public Official Election Act is six months, former Ssangbangwool Group chairman Kim Sung-tae fled overseas, and a Gyeonggi Provincial Government secretariat staff member at the time refused to appear before investigative authorities, stating that "there are limitations in uncovering the substantive truth" and "the evidence cannot be considered sufficient."

Although not indicted, the prosecution is investigating Lee's 'lawyer fee payment on behalf' allegations. The Public Official Election Act violation case that was not indicted this time is the main charge, along with bribery and other allegations. The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Integrated Investigation Team (Criminal Division 6 and Public Investigation Division) and Criminal Division 1 are examining this case together with suspicious fund flows and embezzlement and breach of trust allegations related to Ssangbangwool Group. If more concrete evidence is secured, there is a possibility that Lee will be summoned for questioning.

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