Lee Facing Prosecutor Summons Next Year... Fierce Attack on Yoon's Political Retaliation

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is scheduled to be summoned by the prosecution in January next year, announced on the 30th in his year-end official message, "I will strongly oppose the regime that has destroyed the livelihood economy, democracy, and peace," signaling a fierce battle against the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

At the last Supreme Council meeting of the year held at the National Assembly that morning, Lee said, "I hope next year will be full of hope, but I am worried because livelihood, economy, peace on the Korean Peninsula, and democracy are also in crisis."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee criticized, "The livelihood economy is as difficult as the year-end cold wave, and democracy is facing the greatest crisis since democratization due to the violent political retaliation of the prosecution regime." He added, "The Democratic Party will firmly resolve to protect the lives of the people who are in a total crisis," emphasizing, "We will pursue politics that gives hope and courage to the people and competent politics that solves life’s problems."

As the prosecution is expected to intensify investigations targeting Lee starting in January next year with suspicions over donations to Seongnam FC, followed by allegations of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong project and suspicions of lawyer fee payments, Lee, as the head of the Democratic Party, cannot avoid the burden of the prosecution’s investigations and the ensuing legal battles ahead of the 2024 general election. According to the prosecution and Lee’s side, the summons date is expected to be between January 10 and 12 next year.

If this happens, Lee will be under intense spotlight at the center of the judicial political situation from the beginning of the year. Therefore, Lee is expected to emphasize that the prosecution under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is biased and political, and to counterattack by claiming that the various investigations against him next year are unjust. Through this, he aims to rally his support base, while the party leadership focuses on the livelihood economy, showcasing Lee’s drive and competence as a strategy.

On this day, Lee pointed out the Yoon administration’s "incompetence" by detailing the economic crisis, security disasters, and difficulties in passing sunset laws. He criticized President Yoon, saying, "The highest person responsible for state affairs uttered dangerously provocative words like 'escalation' and 'war,'" calling it "irresponsible." He also attacked the ruling party, saying, "The passage of sunset laws is difficult due to stubbornness," and "They are obsessed only with seizing power regardless of the people’s lives." Lee said, "I hope they spend even one hundredth of that energy on taking care of people’s livelihoods."

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