SEOUL– Main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung plans to appear for questioning by the prosecution next week over a corruption investigation surrounding a football club, a party spokesperson said Friday.

Lee faces allegations of third-party bribery surrounding corporate donations to a football club years ago.

Prosecutors suspect Lee, who served as the mayor of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, is linked to allegations that the city government attracted some 16 billion won (US$12.6 million) in corporate donations to its municipal football club in return for administrative favors between 2016 and 2018.

Lee has denounced the probe as a politically motivated attempt to remove him.

Source: Yonhap News Agency