Former PPP chairman to appear for police questioning after Chuseok holidays

Former People Power Party chairman Lee Jun-seok vists Daegu on Sept, 14 to attend speaking engagements in the southeastern city, [YONHAO]

Former People Power Party (PPP) chairman Lee Jun-seok informed police he will appear for questioning after the Chuseok holidays to address allegations that he received sexual favors in exchange for political access, police officials said Tuesday.

Thirty-seven-year-old Lee, who was elected as the youngest-ever leader of a major Korean political party last year, had his PPP membership suspended after he was accused of receiving sexual services in 2013 paid for by Kim Sung-jin, CEO of the tech company i-Kaist, when Lee was on a committee of the Saenuri Party, the PPP’s predecessor.

Lee is also accused of abetting attempts to cover up the allegations by promising to pay off a whistleblower.

Kim has claimed that Lee promised access to then-President Park Geun-hye in return for the sexual services.

According to police officials, Lee plans to appear for questioning at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s headquarters in Jongno District, central Seoul on Sept. 16, following police summons issued last week.

By agreeing to submit to questioning, Lee exhibited the same kind of confidence — and defiance — that has characterized his legal actions to undo the PPP’s leadership restructuring efforts aimed at removing him from the party’s helm permanently.

“Unlike the Democratic Party’s Chairman Lee Jae-myung, I have no intention of refusing to appear for questioning,” Lee told reporters, referring to the refusal of the rival party’s leader to be interrogated by prosecutors who have summoned him in a separate case related to election law violations.

According to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, police are likely to investigate Lee’s alleged role in the attempt to cover up sexual bribery suspicions against him, but not the sexual bribery charge itself, due to the expiration of the five-year statute of limitations.

In August, Lee filed several lawsuits to prevent the PPP from formally transitioning to a leadership structure led by an emergency steering committee.

One injunction was partially approved by the Seoul Southern District Court, leading to the suspension of the duties of Rep. Joo Ho-young, chair of the emergency steering committee.

The court partially agreed with Lee's argument that it was not a bona fide “emergency” that sparked his suspension, but rather senior party members’ desire to wrest control away from the chairman.

In response to the court’s grant of an injunction, the PPP declared its intention to launch a new emergency steering committee before the four-day Chuseok holiday, which begins Friday, with floor leader Kweon Seong-dong leading the process as acting chair.

The PPP is expected to hold national committee and standing national committee meetings on Thursday for the appointment of the chair and members of the new emergency steering committee to officially launch the new leadership.

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