SEOUL– Prosecutors on Sunday questioned one of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung’s closest confidants who was arrested over bribery and other charges connected to a high-profile real estate development scandal.
Jeong Jin-sang, a vice chief of staff to the Democratic Party (DP) chairman, was arrested the previous day for allegedly having received nearly 140 million won (US$105,596) between 2013 and 2020 from real estate developers at the center of the development corruption scandal in return for business favors.
Earlier in the day, Jeong was questioned at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office for the first time since his arrest, a move that suggests the investigation is closing in on Lee.
Known as Lee’s “right-hand man,” Jeong had served as a senior policy secretary to Lee while he served as the Seongnam mayor and then the governor of Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul.
Jeong is also known as one of Lee’s two closest aides, along with Kim Yong, deputy head of the DP’s Institute for Democracy think tank, who was indicted earlier this month on charges of receiving hundreds of millions of won in illegal political funds from the property developers.
Source: Yonhap News Agency