Yoo Sang-beom "Lee Jae-myung's Request for Ssangbangwool Arrest Warrant Expected in March"

Yoo Sang-beom, a former prosecutor and a member of the People Power Party, predicted that an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, regarding the 'Ssangbangwool fund allegations' will likely be requested next month, stating that the investigation has progressed significantly.

On the 28th, Yoo said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "I expect such a development to occur in March."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is voting on the arrest consent bill concerning himself at the 8th plenary session of the 403rd National Assembly (extraordinary session) held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. Behind him is Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

He added, "The arrest warrant request will be made after Lee's summons investigation. From an expert's perspective on the reports in the media, the investigation has been very thorough and extensive. We have secured many meaningful statements through Kim Sung-tae, the chairman of Ssangbangwool, and especially, if the employee responsible for accounting under him has given full testimony about the flow of funds, I believe the warrant will likely be issued in March."

Regarding allegations related to Lee's involvement in Daejang-dong and Seongnam FC sponsorships, although the arrest motion was rejected in the vote held the previous day, there is analysis that the motion might pass next time due to a 'mass defection' of votes within the Democratic Party. Yoo described it as "a de facto impeachment of Lee by the non-mainstream faction," noting, "There were 37 to 38 dissenting votes, which showed that when the arrest motion is brought up again, they intend to take action."

On whether an arrest warrant will be re-requested over the Daejang-dong and Seongnam FC allegations, he said, "I think they will not re-request but proceed with a non-custodial indictment," adding, "If that happens, unlike the previous election law violation case, the issue of suspension from the party leader position under Article 80 of the party constitution will likely surface." Article 80 of the Democratic Party's constitution states that if a party official is indicted on charges related to corruption, their duties are suspended immediately upon indictment.

Within the Democratic Party, voices are emerging that Lee should resign to 'take responsibility and resolve the issue.' However, Yoo said, "He will absolutely not step down," and predicted, "There will be fierce internal conflicts starting with the so-called 'Gaeddal' (Lee Jae-myung's hardcore supporters) identifying and attacking the dissenting votes."

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