"Hard to Find Even One Photo" Jeong Jin-sang, Who Rarely Appears, Steps Forward?

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] "It will be hard to find even a single properly taken photo."

As the prosecution recently launched a forced investigation into Jeong Jin-sang, the Chief Political Coordination Officer of the Democratic Party leader's office, those familiar with his whereabouts unanimously said this.

According to the legal community on the 14th, Jeong is called a 'closest aide' to Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, but he reportedly never took the forefront in Lee's major activities. This was especially true during his tenure as the Policy Director of Seongnam City, where allegations such as the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town development corruption and Seongnam FC sponsorship funds were concentrated. He only appeared as a signatory in the approval line and remained quiet. Most employees who worked at Seongnam FC at the time said, "I have never even seen his face." Among Seongnam city council members, he seemed to be a figure shrouded in mystery. Many council members said they "only heard his name but do not know what he looks like." There are only rumors that Jeong, who had a particular interest in soccer, exchanged comments related to soccer on online platforms such as social networking services (SNS).

In the indictment of another 'close aide' of Lee, Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, who was indicted earlier, Jeong appears relatively infrequently compared to other key figures, mentioned about 20 times. He especially appears in sections involving significant financial transactions. For example, the prosecution stated in the indictment, "Kim Yong and Yoo Dong-gyu, along with Jeong Jin-sang, considered a method of raising political funds by receiving development profits promised by Kim Man-bae from the Daejang-dong project and repeatedly requested profit payments from Kim Man-bae several times between September 2020 and February 2021 to cover necessary funds."

The prosecution, considering these secretive activities, devoted most of the space in the search warrant executed on the 9th at Jeong's residence and the Democratic Party headquarters to detailing the 30-year-long bond between Lee and Jeong. The prosecution described the two as a "political community." They effectively regarded Jeong as Lee's 'shadow' or 'alter ego.'

Jeong will undergo his first interrogation by the prosecution on the 15th. He is suspected of receiving a total of 140 million KRW in bribes under the Special Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes during his tenure as Policy Secretary of Seongnam City and Policy Director of Gyeonggi Province from 2013 to 2020, from Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and others involved in the Daejang-dong case under various pretexts.

This is the first time the prosecution has investigated Jeong since investigating the Daejang-dong case. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office formed a dedicated team last September to focus on the Daejang-dong case but had never summoned Jeong. The prosecution reportedly notified Jeong of summons about twice, but his side requested postponements each time and did not schedule further dates. Then, in July, the entire Daejang-dong investigation team was replaced in a prosecution personnel reshuffle, accelerating the investigation and leading to Jeong's summons.

Attention is focused on whether Jeong will actively step forward to deny the charges against himself and Lee during this prosecution investigation. He has consistently denied all allegations. Jeong stated, "The prosecution is fabricating crimes through 'Saminseongho' (a Chinese idiom meaning collective false accusation), but lies cannot overcome the truth. I will respond to the prosecution's investigation confidently and honorably, but firmly oppose any unreasonable acts."

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