Lee "Waive immunity from arrest? What if wearing a police uniform and committing robbery..."

"Prosecutors Become Servants of Power... Abuse of Investigation and Prosecution Rights"

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Park Jun-i] Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 12th that if a motion for consent to arrest him is submitted to the National Assembly, whether he would relinquish the 'parliamentary immunity from arrest' would depend on the circumstances: "If the police exercise their authority lawfully, I will naturally accept it, but if they commit robbery while wearing police uniforms, the situation is different, so the judgment may vary."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a New Year's press conference at the National Assembly on the 12th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

After concluding a New Year's press briefing at the National Assembly on the same day, Lee responded to reporters' questions by saying, "Since democratization, there has been no case where the prosecution has abused investigative and prosecutorial powers in this manner." He added, "Currently, the prosecution has become a servant of power, assisting unjust authorities, and the prosecution itself has become a power. Please consider that the investigative and prosecutorial powers are being abused?not conducting investigations but engaging in politics."

Regarding the 12-hour summons investigation by the prosecution on the 10th related to allegations of donations to Seongnam FC, Lee said, "As a citizen, it was a very unfair treatment, but I faced the prosecution's summons confidently. I cooperated with the investigation because I did nothing wrong, but the prosecution's demand is very unfair and improper," reiterating his criticism.

Concerning the bill to introduce a special prosecutor system for First Lady Kim Geon-hee, which the Democratic Party is pushing as party policy, he emphasized that it should not be linked to his own prosecution investigation.

Lee said, "I think it is unfair to associate the two issues (Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor and Lee Jae-myung's judicial risk). Because the political attack by the prosecution against me fabricates false facts, forcibly trying to find charges that were not found in years of investigations already conducted by the police, which resulted in no charges." He continued, "There is so much clear evidence against Mrs. Kim that I do not think it is a matter to be linked. Making it seem like the two are related is essentially an unfair judgment. Wouldn't I feel somewhat wronged if unrelated matters are connected?"

Meanwhile, regarding the media's reference to "Lee Jae-myung's judicial risk," he requested, "I would appreciate it if you could refer to it as 'prosecutorial risk' rather than judicial risk whenever possible."

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