Prosecutors: "Will investigate on the 30th" vs Lee Jae-myung: "I will go tomorrow"

CEO Lee indicted on 'third-party bribery charges' in North Korea remittance suspicion case

The prosecution investigating the allegations of illegal remittances to North Korea by Ssangbangwool Group notified Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, to appear for questioning on the 30th of this month, but Lee announced on the morning of the 24th that he would go for the investigation.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is presiding over the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam) notified Lee on the 23rd to appear for questioning on the 30th on charges of bribery by a third party related to the illegal remittance case to North Korea.

A prosecution official said, "We requested Lee's side to appear on the 30th by phone and in writing, and we plan to proceed with the investigation according to that schedule."

However, Park Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly that day and conveyed Lee's position, saying, "The prosecution hopes to investigate next week, but he cannot spare any time due to party affairs," and added, "He will go immediately for questioning tomorrow (the 24th) morning."

The allegations of illegal remittances to North Korea by Ssangbangwool Group involve former Ssangbangwool Group chairman Kim Sung-tae sending a total of 8 million dollars to North Korea on behalf of Gyeonggi Province: 5 million dollars for the North Korean smart farm support project that Gyeonggi Province was supposed to pay at the request of former Gyeonggi Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young in 2019, and 3 million dollars for the North Korean side's requested travel expenses for the Gyeonggi governor at the time. The prosecution recently booked Lee, who was the governor of Gyeonggi Province at the time, on suspicion of involvement in Ssangbangwool's payment on his behalf.

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