'Lee Jae-myung's Closest Aide' Jeong Jin-sang Investigated for About 14 Hours... Actively Denies Charges

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) summoned Jeong Jin-sang, the Political Coordination Officer of the Representative Office and known as a 'closest aide' to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 15th as a suspect and investigated him for about 14 hours from the morning.

Jeong appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, around 9 a.m. in a closed session and left the building around 11 p.m.

The prosecution believes that Jeong received a total of 140 million won in bribes under various pretexts from the so-called 'Daejang-dong group,' including Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, while serving as Policy Secretary of Seongnam City and Director of Gyeonggi Province Policy Office from 2013 to 2020.

They also allege that Jeong promised to share dividends (after tax 42.8 billion won) corresponding to 24.5% of common stock shares with Kim Man-bae in exchange for preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong project, and leaked confidential internal information to private contractors in the Wirye New Town development project, enabling them to earn large sums of money.

He is also suspected of instructing Yoo, the former director, to throw his mobile phone out the window ahead of a prosecution raid on September 29 last year (obstruction of evidence).

Earlier, the prosecution conducted raids on his residence and the Democratic Party office and summoned Jeong six days later. It is known that the prosecution also questioned the connection with Lee Jae-myung on that day.

However, Jeong actively denied the allegations, stating that they were "different from the facts." He is said to be fully denying the charges, arguing that the suspicions are based solely on Yoo's testimony and that there is no physical evidence.

Jeong is considered a 'trusted aide' who has closely supported Lee since the mid-1990s when Lee was working as a lawyer in the Seongnam area, assisting him in various elections and in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, and the Democratic Party. When the prosecution searched Jeong's residence, the warrant mentioned Lee's name 102 times, emphasizing the close relationship of over 20 years between Jeong and Lee as a "political community."

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