Lee Jae-myung wins an assembly seat, immunity too

Politics

Published: 02 Jun. 2022, 18:46

Lee Jae-myung wins an assembly seat, immunity too

Former Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung speaks at his campaign headquarters in Gyeyang District, Incheon on Wednesday upon learning that he won the by-election to represent the district's B constituency in the National Assembly. [YONHAP]

Former Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung won a seat in the National Assembly on Wednesday, complicating any potential investigation into his role in the scandal-ridden Daejang-dong development.

Lee, who won a by-election to represent Incheon’s Gyeyang District B constituency in Wednesday's local elections, will soon be immune to summons for questioning by investigators without the consent of the National Assembly.

The state prosecution has been conducting a probe into the Daejang-dong residential development in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, just south of Seoul since last year, which was spearheaded by Lee when he was mayor of Seongnam.

The project attracted the attention of investigators after it was revealed that a small stakeholder in the mixed public-private consortium in charge of the development — a previously little-known asset management company called Hwacheon Daeyu -- raked in disproportionately large profits from a relatively minor investment.

Prosecutors are currently examining Lee’s role in the project, which was launched during his 2010-2018 tenure as Seongnam’s mayor.

Lee is also suspected of having others pay his legal fees during an election law violation case in 2018. That allegation was exposed by a whistleblower who provided a transcript that suggests that Lee’s defense attorney in the case received 300 million won and stock worth 2 billion won.

More recently, Lee was accused of taking political donations from companies via the city’s football club, Seongnam FC.

While Lee has denied all of the allegations against him, the whistleblower in his election law violation case, as well as two officials related to the Daejang-dong land development scandal, have been found dead in apparent suicides, adding fuel to the suspicions against the former presidential candidate.

The whistleblower was found dead on Jan. 12 in what police ruled a suicide. Kim Moon-ki, head of the development division at the Seongnam Development Corporation, was found dead on Dec. 21, days after Yoon Han-gi, head of the Pocheon Urban Corporation who was connected to the scandal, was found to have died by suicide on Dec. 10.

Prior to Lee’s by-election victory, lawmakers from the rival People Power Party (PPP) accused the former presidential candidate of trying to get immunity from prosecution by winning a seat in the National Assembly.

While the state prosecution service has not declared it will delay or slow down its investigations as a result of Lee’s election, probes into sitting lawmakers or summons for questioning are complicated by parliamentary privileges.

The Constitution stipulates that sitting lawmakers cannot be arrested without the consent of their fellow lawmakers unless they are caught at the scene of a crime.

Summoning a sitting lawmaker is also no easy feat.

"In my experience, it is almost impossible to summon a lawmaker once the National Assembly is in session,” said a senior prosecutor who spoke to the JoongAng Ilbo on condition of anonymity.

“Sitting lawmakers often refused to comply with investigations, making various excuses such as 'I have a committee meeting’ or ‘I have to be present at my political party’s activities,” he added.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]