Lee Jae-myung "Feeling Humiliated by Prosecutors' Claims... Investigation Will Continue As Long As I Am Alive"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the first trial on the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town preferential treatment allegations on the 6th and strongly denied the charges, saying, "Does this make sense from a common-sense perspective?"

At the trial held in the morning at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 (Presiding Judge Kim Dong-hyun) on charges including breach of trust and bribery, Lee said, "I have never granted a single request from private developers, whom I deeply detest as real estate speculation forces," expressing his stance.

Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, leaving the courthouse.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

He added, "If you look at the recorded conversations, they themselves talk about how much they hate me," and lamented, "The prosecution has all those records, so I feel humiliated beyond the defendant's position when they say I colluded with them."

Regarding the Wirye New Town allegations, he argued, "If I had colluded with them, wouldn't it have been enough to quietly make a private contract? Why go through a public bidding process?" He also said, "This is all in the recorded conversations as well." Furthermore, he criticized, "The investigation against me is ongoing, with dozens of prosecutors involved and hundreds of searches conducted. It will continue, and as long as I live, I suppose it will keep going."

Lee's defense attorney and the prosecution clashed over Lee's health condition after fasting for 24 days. The defense attorney requested a short trial, saying, "He has lost a lot of muscle and is struggling even to sit." They added, "Since he sat for 8 to 9 hours during a recent warrant hearing, he is experiencing severe aftereffects and slow recovery, so it is reasonable to have the dispute at the next hearing. If the entire procedure proceeds for a long time, it could lead to a vicious cycle and disrupt future trial progress."

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is under suspicion of preferential treatment in the development of Daechung-dong and Wirye New Town, is attending a trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

However, the prosecution said, "We hope for the defendant's speedy recovery regardless of the trial, but the date has already been postponed once," and added, "Medical staff were on standby during the warrant hearing, and a considerable amount of time has passed since then." They continued, "We understand that Lee has been resting and undergoing recovery procedures at the hospital, and judging by his activity on social media (SNS), it seems he is capable of proceeding with the trial."

Ultimately, the trial ended about 1 hour and 20 minutes earlier than scheduled after hearing the prosecution's statements regarding some of the charges and Lee's rebuttal.

Lee drew attention by requesting the court's permission for 'physical contact' with his close aide, Jeong Jin-sang, former chief of political coordination at the representative office, who was also indicted and seated in the defendant's area. He said, "Due to bail conditions, I cannot have any contact with Jeong Jin-sang, but I ask for permission to have physical contact with him at least inside this courtroom. I will not talk to him during recess or after the trial ends." When the court granted permission, Lee patted Jeong on the back, hugged him, shook hands, and then left the courtroom.

The prosecution applied to amend the indictment to clarify the charges, and the court approved, stating, "Considering the distinction of specific criminal facts, identity is recognized." However, Lee's defense and Jeong's side argued, "It is still unclear what is subject to trial and what the defendant's actions are, violating the principle of indictment specificity, so the indictment should be dismissed."

The next trial is scheduled for the 17th.

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