Lee Jae-myung to be questioned by prosecutors on Friday
Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee Jae-myung will appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at around 11 a.m. Friday to answer questions regarding the Daejang-dong development project, a DP spokesperson said Tuesday.
The Daejang-dong development, located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, just south of Seoul, is at the center of allegations that Hwacheon Daeyu, a small asset management company, and related individuals pocketed outsized profits from the project, which was approved by Lee when he was mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018.
Prosecutors are investigating suspicions that investors in the project who benefitted from its allegedly skewed profit distribution scheme gave money to Lee in return for preferential treatment.
Lee’s Friday appearance for questioning will be his third visit to the prosecutors and the second regarding the Daejang-dong investigation.
The first visit was to answer questions regarding corporate sponsorship of Seongnam city’s football club when he was the city’s mayor.
Ahn Ho-young, the DP senior spokesperson, said Tuesday that the DP has repeatedly requested that the visit be made on a weekend as Lee was busy working on party and national affairs during the week.
“The prosecutors stubbornly demanded the visit to be made during the week,” Ahn said.
“The prosecutors’ attitude in demanding a visit during the week while ignoring how the DP chair needs to attend to the people’s livelihood is regretful,” Ahn added. “The true face of this government is that it and the People Power Party are ignoring the people’s livelihoods, passing on that role to the Democratic Party, even as they obstruct the DP’s work through the prosecutors.”
While Lee made his first visit to the prosecutors’ office this year on a Friday, he made the second one on a Saturday.
Prosecutors on Tuesday also raided Seongnam City Hall and about forty other locations as they widened their investigation to corruption allegations against Lee in another development.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office sent investigators to the city hall, the Seongnam Development Corporation and Asia Developer to obtain evidence.
Other locations also raided by the prosecution on Tuesday include the residences of two close associates of Lee Jae, former Korea Housing Technology chief Kim In-seop and the head of Asia Developer, a private company.
That probe focuses on allegations that the Seongnam city government gave special administrative favors to Asia Developer in 2015, which led a high-profile project to develop the city’s Baekhyeon-dong district into apartment complexes.
The Baekhyeon-dong development was started while Lee was Seongnam’s mayor, as was the Wirye New City development and the Daejang-dong development.
Dealings in all three projects are currently being investigated by prosecutors.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]