Seoul: The presidential office on Tuesday remained silent amid a growing controversy surrounding the prosecution's decision not to appeal a high-profile development corruption case linked to President Lee Jae Myung from his time as mayor of Seongnam. The prosecution has been in internal turmoil after the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office offered to resign in protest over the decision to forgo the appeal before last Friday's deadline and 18 prosecutors issued a statement urging acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok to explain the rationale.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the controversy persisted even after Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho on Monday denied that President Lee had any involvement in the decision. Jung stated he had not issued any directive regarding a possible appeal, though he acknowledged conveying his opinion to the Supreme Prosecutors Office to "make a careful decision after considering various circumstances."
On Tuesday, the main opposition People Power Party called for Jung's resignation and demanded the presidential office clarify suspicions regarding its alleged involvement in the prosecution's controversial decision. Asked whether the presidential office had communicated with the prosecution leadership in advance of the decision to drop the appeal, a senior presidential official told reporters: "The presidential office does not have a particular opinion."
Lee stood trial on charges of inflicting losses on Seongnam Development Corp., which was in charge of the project, before a court indefinitely postponed his trial following his presidential election victory in June. In a separate trial, however, a district court sentenced Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp., and Kim Man-bae, a major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, to eight-year prison terms each on charges, including breach of duty, on Oct. 31. Three other suspects were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to six years.
Under the Criminal Procedure Act, if prosecutors forgo an appeal, the sentences cannot be increased under the "prohibition of unfavorable changes." All five defendants have filed appeals. Later in the day, Woo Sang-ho, the presidential secretary for political affairs, refuted the opposition's allegations that the presidential office was involved in the prosecution's decision to drop the appeal.
"We had not planned anything in advance," Woo said in an interview with broadcaster SBS' YouTube channel. "There is no benefit for the president." Woo said prosecutors handling the case should reflect on the court's ruling, which handed down longer sentences to key figures than what prosecutors had initially demanded -- a rare outcome in criminal cases. "Those who investigated the case and were responsible for indictment should reflect," Woo said. "It should be seen as they failed in demanding appropriate sentences."