[2023 National Audit] Supreme Prosecutors' Office Audit, Controversies Over 'Lee Jae-myung Investigation and Suwon District Prosecutors' Office 2nd Chief's Misconduct Allegations'

The Democratic Party Focuses Questions on 'Fake News and Allegations of Legal Card Misuse by Lee's Spouse'
The Opposition Likely to Launch Offensive on Suwon District Prosecutor's Office Deputy Chief's 'Unauthorized Criminal Record Inquiry' Allegations

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office is scheduled for the 23rd, and the investigation surrounding Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, as well as allegations of misconduct against Lee Jeong-seop, the 2nd Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, are expected to be key issues during the audit.

The ruling party is likely to focus its inquiries on the ongoing prosecution of Lee Jae-myung related to the 'Newstapa false interview' case and other fake news allegations, as well as the investigation into Kim Hye-kyung, Lee’s spouse, regarding the alleged misuse of Gyeonggi Province corporate credit cards.

The prosecution is investigating the Newstapa 'Kim Man-bae-Shin Hak-rim' false interview allegations related to the Daejang-dong development ahead of last year’s presidential election. At that time, Newstapa aired an interview with Shin Hak-rim, former chairman of the Korean Federation of Journalists' Unions and then Newstapa senior advisor, and Kim Man-bae, a private developer of Daejang-dong, claiming that “President Yoon Seok-yeol, while at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office’s Central Investigation Department, covered up the case of Jo Woo-hyung, a Daejang-dong developer involved in the Busan Savings Bank scandal, through former special prosecutor Park Young-soo.” The prosecution suspects that Kim and Shin conducted a false interview and that Shin received 165 million KRW as compensation.

Additionally, the prosecution recently activated a special investigation team dedicated to probing the alleged private use of corporate credit cards by Lee’s spouse. Previously, the prosecution indicted Lee’s secretary, Bae, without detention last year on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act related to this allegation. Bae was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation in the first trial in August this year and has appealed. The prosecution decided not to indict Kim Hye-kyung last year, considering further investigation necessary. Kim is also accused of breach of trust due to the misuse of corporate credit cards. Furthermore, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission recently judged that there is a likelihood that Lee was aware of his spouse’s misuse of corporate credit cards and referred the case to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, which is expected to begin an investigation upon receipt.

The prosecution is also investigating allegations related to Kim Sung-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, concerning the splitting of donations during the 21st presidential election Democratic Party primaries. Based on Kim’s testimony that he illegally donated about 150 million KRW at the request of former Deputy Governor Lee, the prosecution conducted a search and seizure at the Central Election Commission last month and is investigating related suspicions.

On the other hand, the opposition party is expected to demand a thorough investigation into allegations of misconduct by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee, who is responsible for the investigation involving Lee Jae-myung, including Ssangbangwool Group’s alleged illicit remittances to North Korea. The investigation is being handled by the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The Democratic Party claims that Deputy Chief Lee is involved in issues such as false address registration, unauthorized background checks on acquaintances, introducing lawyers to his in-laws, and tax delinquency suspicions. However, Deputy Chief Lee has denied these allegations, stating that the false address registration issue has been resolved, taxes have been paid, and other allegations are groundless.

Moreover, the opposition is likely to focus inquiries on allegations of misuse of special activity funds by the prosecution, which have been raised mainly by civic groups. There may also be claims that the investigation into the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case, in which First Lady Kim Geon-hee is implicated, is insufficient. In addition, the opposition is expected to point out the prolonged investigation into the Democratic Party’s money envelope scandal.

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