Prosecution Prepares to Summon Lee Jae-myung "Investigation Next Week, Warrant Likely After the 16th"

As the prosecution's investigations into the allegations of 'special favors in Baekhyeon-dong development' and 'Ssangbangwool Group's remittance to North Korea' reach their final stages, the summons of Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is suspected to be at the center of both cases, is entering the countdown phase.

Lee Jae-myung, Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea Photo by Yonhap News

According to sources inside and outside the prosecution on the 1st, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) is preparing to summon Lee regarding the 'special favors in Baekhyeon-dong development' allegations. A prosecution official said, "It is currently under review." The legal community expects that the Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation team will notify Lee of the summons within this week, and the investigation will take place in the latter half of next week. Lee is scheduled to leave for summer vacation on the 1st. Considering that discussions about the summons schedule will be possible early next week after his return from vacation, there is a strong possibility that the summons investigation will occur around the latter half of next week. After the summons investigation, there is speculation that a detention warrant may be requested within this month.

The prosecution has secured key testimonies from former Korea Housing Technology CEO Kim In-seop and related Seongnam city officials, and summoned Jeong Jin-sang, former Political Coordination Office Chief of the Democratic Party of Korea, for questioning on the 25th of last month. Now, only the direct investigation of Lee remains. Lee, who was the mayor of Seongnam at the time, was the final approver of the Baekhyeon-dong development project after Jeong.

The Criminal Division 6 of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam), which is investigating the Ssangbangwool remittance to North Korea allegations, is also expected to move swiftly. Jeong is expected to be questioned regarding this suspicion within this week, followed by the investigation of Lee. The legal community anticipates that the prosecution will notify Lee of the summons after observing the trial of Lee Hwa-young, former Deputy Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province, scheduled for the 8th. Lee Hwa-young recently attracted attention by reportedly changing his testimony during prosecution questioning to state that he "reported the Ssangbangwool Group's remittance to North Korea case to Lee." If he reiterates this position at the trial on the 8th, Lee's investigation will become inevitable.

The movements of the prosecution leadership are also accelerating. Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok and Shin Bong-soo, head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Department, will return from their summer vacations at noon on this day. They are expected to resume work and immediately begin discussions on handling the two cases. It is known that Chief Shin worked remotely during his vacation and received reports on the remittance to North Korea case.

Prosecutor's Office [Image source=Yonhap News]

The prosecution is likely to consider requesting an arrest warrant after Lee's summons investigation. The warrant is expected to be requested by combining the two cases of 'special favors in Baekhyeon-dong development' and 'remittance to North Korea.' The legal community and political circles anticipate that the warrant will be requested after the temporary National Assembly session begins on the 16th.

It is still uncertain whether the arrest warrant will be requested by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office or the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office. The legal community tends to believe that the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office will take over the Baekhyeon-dong case from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and request the arrest warrant together with the remittance to North Korea case. This is because, judging by the severity of the cases, the remittance to North Korea charge is considered more serious. The prosecution is reportedly reviewing the application of direct bribery charges against Lee, based on the view that he directly received reports on Ssangbangwool's remittance plan to North Korea.

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