Lee Jae-myung, Suspected of 'Baekhyeon-dong Development Privileges,' Appears Before Prosecution Today... Fourth Time Since Party Leader Inauguration

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and the 'epicenter' of the Baekhyeon-dong preferential development allegations, will appear for investigation at the prosecution on the 17th. This marks his fourth appearance at the prosecution since taking office as party leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) will summon Lee in the morning on charges including breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

Lee is scheduled to arrive at the main gate of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, around 10:20 a.m. He is expected to briefly state his position in front of the press before heading to the interrogation room.

Lee is accused of causing damage to Seongnam City by granting various preferential treatments to private developers during the development of the former Korea Food Research Institute site in Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, while serving as mayor of Seongnam from 2014 to 2015.

Initially, to prevent preferential treatment arising from the four-stage zoning upgrade (from natural/conservation green space to quasi-residential area) and to secure public interest, Seongnam Urban Development Corporation (hereafter referred to as the Corporation) was supposed to participate in the project, but its participation was suddenly excluded.

The prosecution believes that Lee and other top officials of Seongnam City provided preferential treatment to private developers following lobbying by Kim In-seop (detained and indicted), a close aide who served as the campaign headquarters chief during the 2006 Seongnam mayoral election and former CEO of Korea Housing Technology.

The prosecution has prepared a questionnaire totaling about 250 pages and is expected to question whether Lee agreed to or was involved in various changes to permit conditions. Lee is likely to refuse detailed answers after submitting a written statement.

In a five-page summary of his statement released on Facebook on the 15th, he denied the allegations, stating, "It was under the instruction of former President Park Geun-hye and the demands of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport," "I accepted the recommendations based on the evaluation results of the relevant departments," and "There was no obligation to involve the Corporation in the development project."

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