Seongman Lee, 13.5-Hour Prosecutor Investigation: "Money Envelope Has Nothing to Do with Me"

Regarding the '2021 Democratic Party of Korea Party Convention Money Envelope Suspicion,' independent lawmaker Lee Seong-man, the first sitting member of the National Assembly to be summoned by the prosecution, was investigated for nearly 13 and a half hours before returning home.

Independent Assemblyman Lee Sung-man
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 20th, Lee appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-cheol) at 9 a.m. the previous day and finished the investigation around 10:22 p.m., leaving the building.

Meeting with reporters, Lee stated, "I sincerely cooperated with the investigation and asserted my innocence based on facts." He added, "The accusation against me is whether I delivered 10 million won in the early stages before the (primary) campaign was formed to cover meals and living expenses for volunteers," emphasizing, "The money envelope has nothing to do with me. I did not deliver that money."

He also claimed that the prosecution misinterpreted his statements in the 'Lee Jeong-geun recording,' which triggered the investigation, saying they "interpreted and pushed it with biased confirmation rather than its actual meaning." Lee explained, "Mr. Lee Jeong-geun kept pressing about the money issue, and I refused several times. He also said that if he kept refusing, there was a risk he would be excluded from the campaign," adding, "So, I attached the pretext of giving money to persuade him to help former Representative Song get elected."

Regarding the part in the recording where he said, "I talked about it when Song (Young-gil) was around," Lee said, "To avoid Mr. Lee Jeong-geun's demand for money, I told Park, a secretary to former Representative Song, that I would give money, but Mr. Lee still asked for money," and explained, "Since I told former Representative Song, I used him as a shield to mean 'Don't talk to me about this anymore.'"

Lee said, "If there are doubts, the suspect and the investigators should exchange opinions through the investigation, and if punishment is necessary, prosecution can follow," adding, "However, forcibly distributing (the suspect's facts) to the media, shocking a family, and worsening public opinion against a specific party is a political act that must never be repeated."

Lee is accused of being involved in the process where 9 million won out of 10 million won in cash, prepared by former Incheon City Political Affairs Deputy Mayor Cho Taek-sang from an acquaintance, was delivered to regional headquarters chiefs via Kang Rae-gu (detained), former Standing Auditor of Korea Water Resources Corporation, with the aim of electing former Representative Song Young-gil in March 2021 ahead of the party convention.

The prosecution, which has intensified investigations into key suspects, plans to summon independent lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok for questioning early next week.

Yoon is accused of instructing Kang to prepare a total of 60 million won and delivering it to 10 to 20 Democratic Party lawmakers.

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