Lee Jae-myung Appears at Prosecutors' Office as Suspect in Baekhyeon-dong Allegations: "If an Arrest Warrant Is Requested, I Will Attend the Hearing Voluntarily"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is the final decision-maker in the apartment development project in Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam City, where allegations of preferential treatment have been raised and who is accused of causing damage to Seongnam City, appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 17th for investigation. Lee emphasized, "If they want to request an arrest warrant, I will voluntarily appear and undergo the examination," adding, "There will be no National Assembly opened for me."

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is under suspicion of preferential treatment in the Baekhyeon-dong development, is appearing at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 17th for investigation. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Arriving at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, at around 10:25 a.m. that day, Lee read a prepared statement before heading straight to the interrogation room. He stated, "I wanted the authority to change the world, not power," and added, "The authority entrusted to me was used solely for the sovereign people, and I have never taken a single penny for personal gain." He continued, "When the fog clears, the truth will be revealed. No matter how much it is hidden, the truth does not disappear," and said, "I will respond to summons investigations proudly, not just ten times but even a hundred times." He also said, "The prosecution should conduct investigations, not politics. Please give up political tricks aiming for division and conflict by requesting warrants during the session," and added, "The prosecutor dictatorship regime's life mission may be to kill me, but my mission is solely the people's livelihood."

This marks Lee's fourth appearance at the prosecutors' office since taking office. The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office plans to verify the background of preferential treatment given to the private developer of the former Korea Food Research Institute site in Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam City, and whether Lee intervened in the process of excluding the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation from the project. The investigation team is reportedly prepared with a questionnaire of about 250 pages for this purpose.

Lee is suspected of causing significant profits to private developers by granting various preferential treatments during the construction of apartments on the former Korea Food Research Institute site in Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam City, while serving as mayor of Seongnam from 2014 to 2015, thereby causing damage to Seongnam City. The prosecution believes that Lee unusually changed the land use from natural and conservation green areas to quasi-residential areas and reduced the original condition of 100% private rental apartments to 10%, allowing the remaining 90% to be supplied as general sale apartments, thus concentrating benefits on private developers. It is also necessary to clarify the background of why the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, which was supposed to participate in the development to secure public interest during the land use change process, was excluded for unclear reasons.

Lee is expected to respond to the prosecution's questions with a pre-prepared written statement rather than actively answering during this investigation as well. When he appeared for investigation in January regarding the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town development corruption allegations, he also responded with a 33-page written statement. On the 15th, Lee disclosed a five-page written statement on his Facebook denying the allegations related to Baekhyeon-dong.

After the investigation on this day, the prosecution is expected to decide soon whether to request an arrest warrant for Lee. There is also a possibility that Lee will be summoned again by the prosecution for other cases. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office continues to investigate the '428 billion won contract allegation,' part of the 'Daejang-dong development corruption' suspicion, while the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office is verifying Lee's involvement or knowledge regarding the 'Ssangbangwool Group illegal remittance to North Korea' allegations. The 'lawyer fee payment' suspicion is also under ongoing investigation. The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office is examining the connection between Lee and the 'Jeongja-dong hotel development preferential treatment' allegations. Lee is currently on trial at the Seoul Central District Court for public election law violations related to the Wirye and Daejang-dong development corruption, illegal sponsorship of Seongnam FC, and his statement that he "did not know the late Kim Moon-gi."

Meanwhile, on the day Lee appeared at the prosecution, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office conducted raids on the residences of individuals who worked in Lee's presidential campaign during the election, in connection with the perjury case related to former Democratic Research Institute Deputy Director Kim Yong's 'illegal fund receipt' trial.

The Democratic Party anticipates that the motion for consent to arrest Lee will be submitted between August and September and is preparing countermeasures accordingly. Park Chan-dae, a Supreme Council member, appeared on MBC Radio that day and predicted, "Lee said, 'Request the warrant during the non-session period, and I will confidently undergo the warrant examination,' but it seems the motion for consent to arrest will be sent during the National Assembly session." Some suggest that if the warrant is requested during the August session, the National Assembly might be temporarily closed only for that period through a 'session split' to allow Lee to undergo the warrant examination.

If the motion for consent to arrest is submitted during the regular National Assembly session in September, Lee's leadership crisis is expected to intensify. Since a 'session split' would be impossible, the process would inevitably proceed to a vote on the motion for consent to arrest. First, there may be internal debates within the Democratic Party over the waiver of immunity only for 'legitimate warrant requests.'

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