Lee Jae-myung to Appear Before Prosecution on 17th Regarding Baekhyeon-dong Allegations: "Will Respond Confidently" (Comprehensive)

"The Obvious Intent to Squeeze Lee Jae-myung and Avert the Regime's Crisis"
Fourth Prosecutor Summons Following Wirye and Daejang-dong Development Allegations

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has agreed to respond to the prosecution's summons regarding the 'Baekhyeon-dong development preferential treatment suspicion.' He will appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for questioning on the 17th.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the expanded executive meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the morning of the same day, spokesperson Kang Seon-woo held a press conference at the National Assembly communication office, reading out Lee Jae-myung's statement, saying, "Every time public sentiment turns its back on the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, every time the incompetent government falls into crisis, the prosecution has launched a campaign to destroy Lee Jae-myung." He conveyed Lee's position, stating, "Despite thoroughly investigating everything about me (Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party leader) for over a year through the Daejang-dong investigation, nothing has come out."

Lee's side has decided to comply with the prosecution's summons for questioning. Spokesperson Kang emphasized, "Then they say they will investigate me again on another case. It is an obvious intention to tighten the noose around Lee Jae-myung to escape the regime's crisis," adding, "Nevertheless, I will confidently respond to the summons for questioning." Kang further explained to reporters, "The leader has decided to appear and be questioned on the 17th."

He also read out a statement released by the Democratic Party's Committee for Countermeasures Against Prosecutorial Dictatorship and Political Oppression. Through the statement, Kang said, "As public sentiment against the Yoon Seok-yeol administration worsened due to the appointment of Lee Dong-gwan as the Communications Commission chairman, the pardon of former district mayor Kim Tae-woo, and the disruption of the Jamboree event, the prosecution once again stepped in as a savior," adding, "Only the subject has changed, but the old tactics remain the same. They stoke the fire by leaking official secrets to the media in a 'rumor-mongering' manner, repeatedly conducting raids, summons, and requesting arrest warrants."

The committee also strongly criticized the prosecution's investigation methods. Kang pointed out, "The usual investigation procedure is to collect evidence through investigation and questioning, then request a warrant and prosecute once the process is complete," but "the prosecution is solely focused on humiliating Lee Jae-myung for public trial purposes, neglecting fact-finding in his investigation." He questioned, "Is the prosecution a 'cleanup squad' dispatched by the president to handle the aftermath of his mistakes?" emphasizing, "The prosecution was not granted such overwhelming authority to cover up government crises by investigating opposition parties."

The committee further warned, "Even the lies of the boy who cried wolf are not believed after three times. Repeating card-shuffling style investigations will not create crimes that never existed," and "Stop obsessing over Lee Jae-myung now. If you fail to let go of this obsession and try to brand the opposition leader as a criminal again, the responsibility will rest entirely with the prosecution."

Meanwhile, when asked whether other lawmakers would accompany Lee to the prosecution, spokesperson Kang replied, "The summons notification came personally to Lee Jae-myung, not to the party, so I understand the schedule was coordinated individually." Regarding the position on the National Assembly's vote on the arrest consent bill, he said, "It does not seem appropriate to speak hypothetically," and added, "The leader has already stated his position on the arrest consent bill during the last negotiation group leaders' speech."

Earlier, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) recently notified Lee's side to appear as a suspect in the Baekhyeon-dong suspicion case. The Baekhyeon-dong development project preferential treatment suspicion concerns the development permit conditions for building apartments on the former Korea Food Research Institute site of 111,265 square meters in Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam City, which allegedly were changed to favor private developers such as Chairman Jeong Ba-ul of Asia Developer.

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