SEONGNAM, South Korea– Prosecutors have asked opposition leader Lee Jae-myung to appear for questioning next month over allegations of third-party bribery after he rejected an earlier summons, officials said Thursday.
Lee, the chair of the Democratic Party (DP), has been under a probe on suspicions that the city government of Seongnam, south of Seoul, attracted some 16 billion won (US$12.6 million) in corporate donations to the city’s football club in return for administrative favors between 2016-18, while he was serving as mayor.
The Suwon District Prosecutors Office had initially asked him to appear for questioning Wednesday, but Lee did not comply, citing previous engagements and a parliamentary session.
“We decided to put off his appearance by two weeks and asked him to pick a possible date between Jan. 10-12, and are currently waiting for his reply,” a prosecution official said.
Lee’s lawyer has also said Lee will only be available for questioning in the second week of January because of a schedule crammed with events for the new year in the first week of 2023, the official said.
The DP leader has denounced the probe as politically motivated, noting the prosecution reopened the case that the police decided to drop last year.
“The prosecution even manipulates the truth to aim its sword of revenge at the opposition party and its political enemies, while working hard to cover up criminal charges against the president’s family and itself,” Lee said in a party conference held at the National Assembly earlier Thursday, apparently referring to allegations of stock manipulation and others related to first lady Kim Keon Hee.
Lee also accused the prosecution of trying to influence the public opinion by leaking confidential information about ongoing probes through the press, saying these actions are the “enemy of democracy” and a “crime.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency