Refusing to Sign Fasting... A Different Lee Jae-myung in Front of 'Funds to North Korea'

Despite numerous suspicions, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who showed a confident attitude while undergoing investigation by the prosecution, showed a different demeanor during the 'North Korea remittance' investigation on the 12th, marking his sixth time standing at the prosecution's photo line since taking office.

On that day, Lee was investigated at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office regarding allegations of North Korea remittances involving the Ssangbangwool Group and then returned home. This was his second investigation related to North Korea remittances, following the one on the 9th.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is appearing at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province on the 12th to undergo investigation related to the suspicion of 'Ssangbangwool Group's remittance to North Korea.' Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

During the process of being investigated twice, Lee showed a more passive and uncooperative attitude compared to previous investigations. First, starting from the 1st, when the prosecution showed signs of summoning him for questioning, he began a hunger strike at the National Assembly. On the 12th day of his hunger strike, appearing gaunt, Lee attended the prosecution but ultimately returned home after a relatively short 4 hours and 40 minutes, citing health reasons.

Lee did not sign the first interrogation record, which is also unusual. From the time of coordinating the investigation schedule, Lee engaged in a power struggle, refusing to review the first record again, which he had stopped reviewing on the 9th, and did not sign or seal it. He claimed that the prosecution did not accurately transcribe his statements into the record. For an interrogation record not agreed upon by the suspect to be admitted as evidence in court, the prosecution must prove the voluntariness of the statements, usually through video recordings of the investigation. Whether this was based on advice from his lawyer or Lee's own decision as a lawyer himself is unknown, but the initial refusal to record video might have been a decision made considering such circumstances. However, Lee did sign the second interrogation record.

During the prosecution's investigation, as with other suspicions, most answers were replaced with written statements, but the tone showed differences. While he denied other allegations with detailed explanations, regarding the North Korea remittance, he consistently claimed ignorance, attributing it to ‘the personal deviation of former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young,’ and after the investigation, he tried to dismantle the facts established by the prosecution by stating, "The prosecution failed to present any evidence."

The nature of the North Korea remittance allegations is pointed out as the reason why Lee showed different behavior this time. From the beginning, many in the legal community analyzed that the North Korea remittance case was more serious than Lee’s other allegations. This is because there are many applicable criminal charges, and they are severe. The prosecution has currently registered Lee as a suspect under the charge of ‘third-party bribery’ and is investigating, but they are also considering the possibility of applying direct bribery charges. Based on the facts known so far, there is also analysis that charges such as violation of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act and the National Security Act could be applied between Lee and North Korea.

The North Korea remittance may have been pursued for Lee’s personal benefit, and the related circumstances differ. In the cases of Daejang-dong, Wirye New Town, Baekhyeon-dong development corruption, and Seongnam FC illegal sponsorship allegations, the corrupt actions of private developers and public officials involved in the incidents allowed Lee to claim that his original good intentions were distorted, a so-called ‘blaming others’ argument. However, the North Korea remittance case is premised on the fact that Lee, who had little political base, sought to instantly attract political attention and lay the groundwork to become a next presidential candidate by promoting support projects for North Korea. The prosecution is investigating with the view that Lee had such criminal motives. If the prosecution confirms this fact, it would be a fatal blow to Lee’s political career, which has emphasized an image of being clean and not pursuing private interests as a local government head.

After completing the investigation of Lee, the prosecution plans to soon decide whether to request an arrest warrant for him. It is known that a conclusion could be reached as early as this week. Since the National Assembly is in session, if an arrest warrant is requested, the Assembly must vote on the consent to Lee’s arrest. In political circles, it is expected that the consent to arrest will be reported to the plenary session on the 21st and voted on the 25th.

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