Lee Jae-myung Returns Home After 4 Hours 40 Minutes in Second Investigation on 'Suspicion of Sending Money to North Korea'

"Cannot Accept Being Summoned Twice"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is accused of third-party bribery related to allegations of illegal remittances to North Korea, returned home 4 hours and 40 minutes after completing his second interrogation on the 12th afternoon. Considering Lee's health condition on the 13th day of his hunger strike, the prosecution significantly reduced the number of questions and swiftly concluded the investigation.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is appearing at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 12th to be investigated as a suspect in connection with the 'Ssangbangwool Group's remittance to North Korea' allegations. [Image source=Yonhap News]

After finishing the second interrogation around 6:11 p.m., Lee said in front of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, "They still couldn't present a single piece of evidence," and added, "I cannot accept being summoned twice for formal questioning." He criticized, "There can be no evidence that is not factual. As a result, I wasted precious time verifying meaningless documents and such. No matter how much the prosecution controls the country, isn't it just a change from torturing people with guns and knives to fabricate cases to now using special prosecutors to fabricate cases?"

Lee also stated, "I hope they come to their senses, recognize the sovereignty of the people, and properly use the given power for the country and the people," adding, "Ultimately, justice will prevail. They may oppress, distort, and fabricate for a while, but it won't last long." When asked by reporters how he explained the third-party bribery charges, he replied, "It seems difficult because they are trying to link me to unrelated charges."

On the same day, the Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam) completed Lee's second suspect interrogation around 3:28 p.m., which lasted about 1 hour and 50 minutes. Lee then reviewed the interrogation record for about 2 hours and 40 minutes. It is known that he signed and sealed the record that day.

During the investigation, the prosecution reportedly focused on questioning Lee about the allegation that the North Korea visit expenses of 3 million dollars for the Gyeonggi Province governor were paid on his behalf amid the Ssangbangwool illegal remittance suspicions. Lee reportedly responded, "I will answer with the written statement submitted on the 9th," and denied the charges regarding the North Korea visit, saying, "I don't know about it; it was all done by Lee Hwa-young." He also reportedly requested the presentation of evidence such as the 'receipt' known to have been received after former chairman Kim Seong-tae paid 8 million dollars to the North Korean side.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is getting into a vehicle after completing an investigation related to the 'Ssangbangwool Group's remittance to North Korea' allegations at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 12th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

As the prosecution compressed the originally prepared 30-page questionnaire to 20 pages and conducted the investigation swiftly, investigations into judicial obstruction allegations surrounding the trial and investigation of former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young, who was involved in the illegal remittance to North Korea, and allegations of split donations by former chairman Kim were not conducted that day. During the first investigation on the 9th, Lee requested to stop the investigation due to health reasons after being questioned for about 8 hours including breaks. He later reviewed the interrogation record for about 2 hours and 40 minutes but refused to sign the record, claiming that the content of his statement was not properly reflected, and then went home.

The Ssangbangwool illegal remittance allegation involves former Ssangbangwool Group chairman Kim Seong-tae sending a total of 8 million dollars to North Korea, including 5 million dollars for the North Korean smart farm support project that Gyeonggi Province was supposed to pay at the request of former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young in 2019, and 3 million dollars for the governor's North Korea visit expenses demanded by the North Korean side at the time. The prosecution suspects that Lee promoted the smart farm project support and other efforts to facilitate the governor's visit to North Korea under the pretext of humanitarian aid, and that former Ssangbangwool Group chairman Kim bore the costs involved.

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