SEOUL– Prosecutors have banned a close aide of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung from leaving the country as part of an investigation into allegations that the city of Seongnam gave business favors to a builder in exchange for financial donations when Lee was mayor.
Jeong Jin-sang, a vice chief of staff to Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party, is one of Lee’s two closest aides, along with Kim Yong, deputy head of the DP’s Institute for Democracy think tank, who has been arrested in a separate corruption scandal.
The Suwon District Prosecutors Office imposed the travel ban on Jeong recently, sources said.
The probe centers on allegations that the Seongnam city government received 5.5 billion won (US$3.8 million) worth of donations from Doosan Engineering & Construction Co. in the mid-2010s via the city’s football club, Seongnam FC, in return for administrative favors.
Lee was serving as Seongnam mayor at that time and prosecutors suspect Lee and Jeong colluded with each other in connection with the corporate donations.
Several other firms, including Nonghyup Bank, Hyundai Department Store and Naver Corp., are also suspected of having illegally provided financial donations.
In a text message sent to reporters, Jeong flatly dismissed the allegations as “fabricated.”
The travel ban came as a separate illegal political fund investigation is zeroing in on the main opposition leader following the arrest of Kim, the other key aide to Lee, on charges of taking illegal political donations from property developers in Seongnam.
Jeong also faces allegations of receiving 50 million won from the developers in 2014.
On Monday, prosecutors raided Kim’s office inside the Democratic Party headquarters in Seoul to seize evidence, including digital data. Prosecutors had initially attempted a search of Kim’s office last week only to turn back empty-handed due to protests by party officials.
The party leader cried foul about the Monday raid and denounced it as “a terrible incident” in the history of the country’s democracy and “violence” against the opposition.
“I hope the people will not forget this scene of history and safeguard the regressing democracy,” he said, again denying any wrongdoing.
Source: Yonhap News Agency