Prosecution Conducts First Interrogation of Jeong Jin-sang After Arrest on Holiday... Opposition Claims "Unreasonable Fabricated Investigation"

Prosecutors Likely to Focus on Verifying Lee's Connection During 20-Day Detention Period
Chief Jeong's Side Considering Request for Detention Review by Court

Jung Jin-sang, Chief of Political Coordination Office, Office of the Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The prosecution investigating the Daejang-dong case summoned Jeong Jin-sang, the Political Coordination Officer of the Democratic Party leader’s office, who is currently in custody, on the 20th for his first interrogation since his detention.

Even after the court issued an arrest warrant for Jeong the previous day, both Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and the opposition parties continue to claim that the prosecution’s investigation is a 'fabricated operation.' In this context, the prosecution appears to be accelerating the investigation to obtain as meaningful testimony as possible during Jeong’s remaining detention period.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) summoned Jeong from Seoul Detention Center to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office building for questioning in the afternoon. Even suspects detained in detention centers are summoned for interrogation through attendance requests.

The prosecution team reportedly worked on the holiday, preparing for Jeong’s interrogation and conducting supplementary investigations.

Jeong, a close aide of Lee, is accused of receiving 140 million won in bribes six times from the Daejang-dong group between February 2013 and October 2020, and promising to share approximately 42.8 billion won in Daejang-dong development profits with Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, along with Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, and Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, in exchange for selecting the Daejang-dong developer.

He is also accused of leaking internal secrets of Seongnam City and Seongnam Urban Development Corporation to private operators including lawyer Nam Wook from July 2013 to March 2017, enabling them to be selected as developers for the Wirye New Town project, which was then implemented and constructed by Hoban Construction, resulting in development profits of approximately 21 billion won. Additionally, he is charged with instructing former Director Yoo to throw his mobile phone out the window on September 29 last year, just before the prosecution’s search and seizure.

The prosecution summoned Jeong on the 15th for questioning and on the 16th requested an arrest warrant on charges including bribery under the Specific Crimes Aggravated Punishment Act, acceptance of benefits after improper conduct, violation of the Anti-Corruption Act, and obstruction of evidence.

On the 18th, after an 8-hour and 10-minute pre-arrest detention hearing, Judge Kim Se-yong of the Seoul Central District Court, who is in charge of warrants, issued an arrest warrant for Jeong at around 2:50 a.m. on the 19th, citing concerns over evidence destruction and flight risk.

Even after securing the custody of Jeong, known as Lee’s 'right-hand man,' Lee and the Democratic Party continue to assert claims of 'opposition suppression' and 'fabricated investigations.'

Following Jeong’s arrest the previous day, Lee posted on his Facebook titled 'I will do what I must,' stating, "One of my political comrades has been arrested again. No prosecution without evidence, prosecution without evidence."

He also said, "When the smoke clears, the truth will be revealed. No matter how much the blade of fabrication is wielded, I believe the truth will not sink," emphasizing that the prosecution’s investigation targeting him and his aides is fabricated and that they are innocent.

The Democratic Party also expressed its stance on the same day through a briefing by spokesperson Lim Oh-kyung, vowing to fight against the prosecution’s fabricated investigation and the opposition destruction operation.

Spokesperson Lim stated, "Arrest does not justify the prosecution’s reckless fabricated investigation," and "All truths will be judged in court." She also said, "We will fight with all our might against the opposition destruction operation of the prosecution dictatorship regime."

Despite the strong backlash from the Democratic Party, with Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute (who was arrested and indicted), whom Lee himself admitted as a close aide, and now Jeong, Lee’s 'right-hand man,' also arrested on charges of receiving bribes from the Daejang-dong group, the prosecution’s investigation is naturally expected to focus on Lee.

Previously, the prosecution’s indictment of Kim Yong specified that the illegal political funds he received from the Daejang-dong group were used as 'primary election funds' for the presidential race, and the search warrant for Jeong described Jeong and Lee as a 'political community,' indicating that the prosecution’s ultimate target in this investigation is Lee.

Following lawyer Nam, who had cooperated with the prosecution, former Director Yoo has completely changed his stance and continues to expose Lee and his aides, which is a favorable circumstance for the prosecution, akin to gaining a powerful secret weapon. Nam is also expected to be released soon as his detention period expires at midnight on the same day, drawing attention to his statements as well.

On the other hand, Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, who knows the relationship between the Daejang-dong group, former Director Yoo, Lee, and his aides most accurately, remains silent or refutes the statements of former Director Yoo and others, which is an unfavorable circumstance for the prosecution. However, since Kim’s detention period expires at midnight on the 23rd, there is a possibility that he may change his stance after release while observing the prosecution’s investigation into Lee and others.

While Lee and the Democratic Party criticize the investigation as relying solely on the testimonies of former Director Yoo and lawyer Nam, whether the prosecution has secured any physical evidence supporting their statements could significantly determine the success of this investigation.

During the detention period of up to 20 days, the prosecution is expected to focus its investigative efforts on inducing Jeong to reverse his testimony based on the statements of former Director Yoo and other related parties and the physical evidence obtained, thereby clarifying Lee’s involvement.

The overall structure of the 'Daejang-dong corruption' case constructed by the prosecution is that Jeong and Kim provided various special favors to the Daejang-dong group through Seongnam City and others, and in return, received election funds and other support for Lee.

Since Jeong was in a direct reporting relationship with Lee on major issues, the prosecution believes it is highly likely that Lee was aware of the requests from the Daejang-dong group to Jeong and that Lee was the final decision-maker who accepted the requests and granted special favors for the development project.

However, to prove Lee’s involvement and hold him responsible for illegal political funds, bribery, or breach of trust, it is necessary to prove with evidence, not just testimony, that Lee approved the receipt of money or acts causing damage to Seongnam City or at least was informed and aware of them.

Meanwhile, Jeong’s side is reportedly considering filing a motion for a review of the legality of detention with the court.

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