Prosecutors to Seek Arrest Warrant for Kim Yong, Lee Jae-myung's Key Aide, Possibly Today... "Will Not Hesitate"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution is expected to file an arrest warrant as early as the 20th for Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute (56), who was arrested on charges of receiving illegal political funds worth hundreds of millions of won. They issued a statement expressing their determination, saying, "We will proceed with the investigation to uncover the truth without hesitation, following due legal procedures without any setbacks."

According to the prosecution on the morning of the day, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) is working hard to analyze the materials secured through the search and seizure of Kim's residence and other locations the previous day. They plan to summon Kim for questioning within the day. Once the charges are organized, they are expected to immediately file an arrest warrant with the court. The prosecution must decide whether to request an arrest warrant within 48 hours of detaining a suspect. Kim was arrested on the morning of the previous day.

Kim is suspected of receiving 800 million won from Nam Wook, a lawyer, and others known as the so-called 'Daejang-dong development gang' between April and August last year. This was just before the Democratic Party's presidential primary, and Kim was managing organization and funds in Lee Jae-myung's presidential campaign. Kim reportedly told Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, that "20 billion won is needed," and Yoo, through lawyer Nam and others, delivered 800 million won in three installments, according to the prosecution. It is reported that Yoo recently testified to the prosecution regarding this matter ahead of the expiration of his detention period on the 20th, which led to the urgent arrest and search the day before. There are suspicions that the prosecution agreed not to extend Yoo's detention period and persuaded him to secure related testimony, but the investigation team denied this, saying, "This is absolutely not true."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending an emergency party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th and delivering a speech. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

If Kim is detained, it is widely analyzed that the prosecution will use him as a stepping stone to intensively target Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party. This is especially because Kim is widely recognized as Lee's 'right-hand man.' Kim has always been by Lee's side in his political career. From 2010 to 2014, as a Seongnam city council member, he supported Lee's administrative activities when Lee was mayor of Seongnam. In January 2018, to help Lee run for governor of Gyeonggi Province, Kim gave up running for a third term as a Seongnam city council member. Two months later, as the head of the campaign organization, he personally registered Lee as a preliminary candidate for governor of Gyeonggi Province. After Lee was elected governor, Kim served as spokesperson for the Gyeonggi Provincial Government until November 2019. From this month, he worked as deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, known as Lee's 'think tank.' Lee said at Kim's book launch in December 2019, "(Kim) is like my alter ego," and at a press conference with Gyeonggi Provincial Government reporters in October last year, he refuted claims that Yoo was his close aide, saying, "Close aides should be Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong."

As the prosecution's investigation progresses, opposition parties are expected to intensify their backlash. The Democratic Party held an emergency party members' meeting in the morning to discuss responses to the prosecution's investigation. At the meeting, Lee criticized the prosecution's attempt to search the Democratic Research Institute within the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, the previous afternoon, calling it "the first time in the history of the Republic of Korea" and saying, "This is not politics but oppression."

In response, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office issued a statement the same day, saying, "We cannot agree at all with claims that the prosecution's investigation and search of cases with significant public suspicion are political retaliation or obstruction of the National Assembly audit." They added that the Democratic Party's physical obstruction of the search the previous day "is an act that undermines the rule of law and must be corrected immediately," emphasizing, "There was no intention to target any specific individual or to interfere with the National Assembly's schedule such as the audit."

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