‘Lee Jae-myung's Closest Aide’ Kim Yong Arrested… Lee Won-seok Says "Investigate According to the Natural Course"

Sudden Forced Investigation on the Eve of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Audit... Testimony Secured on 'Presidential Election Preparation Funds' Transfer
'Illegal Presidential Election Fund Suspicion' Accelerates... Kim Yong Demands 2 Billion Won from Daejangdong Private Business Operator

Members and party officials of the Democratic Party of Korea confronted prosecutors conducting a search and seizure at the Democratic Research Institute in front of the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 19th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok reportedly urged the investigation team to "conduct the investigation naturally" regarding the investigation of Kim Yong, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

According to the legal community on the 20th, Prosecutor General Lee approved this stance after receiving a report from the investigation team about plans to urgently arrest Deputy Director Kim and conduct a search and seizure of the Democratic Research Institute.

It is analyzed that the investigation team was able to urgently arrest Deputy Director Kim and conduct a search and seizure of the Democratic Research Institute the day before the National Assembly inspection of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office because Prosecutor General Lee empowered the investigation team in this way.

Earlier, on the 1st of last month, just before the confirmation hearing, when notifying the summons of Lee Jae-myung on charges including false statement disclosure, Prosecutor General Lee was also reported to have encouraged the investigation team with the sentiment that "the investigation is the investigation, and the confirmation hearing is the confirmation hearing" after being briefed in advance.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) made a sudden arrest of Deputy Director Kim on the previous day on charges of receiving illegal presidential election funds amounting to over 800 million won.

The prosecution is known to have detected circumstances where Deputy Director Kim requested 2 billion won in presidential election preparation funds from Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, in February last year.

Former Acting President Yoo conveyed Deputy Director Kim's request to Nam Wook, a lawyer and owner of Cheonhwa-dongin No. 4, an affiliate of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, a private developer in Daejang-dong. Lawyer Nam is reported to have raised over 800 million won and delivered it to Deputy Director Kim through lawyer Jeong Min-yong and former Acting President Yoo between April and August last year.

The prosecution is said to have secured such testimonies during recent investigations of former Acting President Yoo, lawyer Nam, and other private developers involved in Daejang-dong.

Deputy Director Kim is considered a close aide to Lee Jae-myung along with Jeong Jin-sang, political coordination chief of the Democratic Party leader's office. When suspicions surrounding the Daejang-dong development arose last year, Lee himself mentioned the two directly, saying, "If they are close aides, they should be people like Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong."

Although suspicions have been continuously raised that the Daejang-dong development project served as a financial reservoir for Lee Jae-myung, the prosecution has not identified any specific charges over the past year. In trials related to Daejang-dong, the focus has been solely on the corruption of private developers, and the trials have proceeded accordingly.

However, with the detection of circumstances indicating that Daejang-dong funds flowed to Deputy Director Kim, a close aide to Lee, the subsequent investigation is expected to develop into allegations of illegal presidential election funds.

Inside and outside the prosecution, there is an analysis that the core of this investigation is to determine whether the money that flowed to Deputy Director Kim was used as Lee Jae-myung's presidential election funds. For this reason, an investigation into whether Lee and Chief Jeong were involved in Deputy Director Kim's presidential election fundraising appears inevitable.

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