Lee Jae-myung's Warrant Hearing, Baekhyeondong Case 'Dispute'... Lee Eats with Soft Food in Court

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has been undergoing a pre-trial detention hearing (warrant review) for over four hours as of the afternoon of the 26th.

Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, has been conducting Lee's warrant hearing since 10:07 a.m. in courtroom 321 of the Seoul Central District Court.

The warrant hearing proceeded with the prosecution and defense presenting arguments on each case, including the Baekhyeon-dong development project favoritism, Ssangbangwool Group's remittance to North Korea, and perjury coaching.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has been indicted on suspicion of preferential treatment in the Baekhyun-dong development project and involvement in Ssangbangwool's North Korea remittance allegations, is attending the pre-arrest detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 26th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Until around 12:40 p.m. that day, the arguments related to the Baekhyeon-dong case continued. The prosecution classified the Baekhyeon-dong case as a "power-type local corruption" and emphasized that due to the seriousness of the matter and concerns over evidence destruction, Lee's detention investigation was inevitable. The presentation materials prepared by the prosecution for the warrant hearing amounted to 500 pages, and the written opinions submitted to the court totaled about 1,500 pages.

Lee's defense team denied any collusion between Lee and Kim In-seop, whom the prosecution identified as a "private behind-the-scenes power," arguing that "private contractors sufficiently made donations and participated in the construction, so there was no need to recover development profits." They also emphasized that there was no flight risk for Lee, the leader of the main opposition party.

Lee reportedly quietly observed the prosecution and defense arguments without making any separate statements.

The court recessed for 30 minutes until 1:10 p.m. for lunch and rest. Lee, who had stopped fasting and was receiving recovery treatment, reportedly ate rice gruel brought from the hospital inside the courtroom.

When the hearing resumes, both sides are expected to argue over the North Korea remittance case and the perjury coaching case. Afterward, Judge Yoo is likely to ask questions directly to verify the validity of both sides' claims. Lee will also have the opportunity to speak and personally assert his innocence.

There is speculation that this hearing could break the record for the longest warrant hearing. The previous longest was the 10 hours and 6 minutes hearing for former National Security Office chief Suh Hoon in December last year, the longest since the system was introduced in 1997.

After the warrant hearing concludes, Lee will be transferred to Seoul Detention Center to await the decision. The decision on detention is expected as early as that night or by the early morning of the 27th at the latest.

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