[Editorial] Don’t brush it off simply as ‘a novel’

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[Editorial] Don’t brush it off simply as ‘a novel’

It turned out that Democratic Party (DP) Chair Lee Jae-myung indirectly delivered a document to North Korea for his possible visit to Pyongyang in 2019 when he was Gyeonggi governor. The draft of the document contains his request for invitation from Kim Yong-chol — the head of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee at the time — over cooperation for food programs with North Korea. In the letter actually delivered to Kim, his request for an invitation from Pyongyang was deleted. But another request was delivered to Kim six months later as an official document from the governor. 
 
In a prosecutorial questioning of Kim Seong-tae — ex-chairman of SBW Group — over his alleged transmission of $5 million on Lee’s behalf to promote a smart farm project pushed by the governor, Kim said he had delivered additional $3 million to North Korea to help realize Lee’s trip to Pyongyang.

If the suspicions prove true, Lee crossed the line as he apparently resorted to a shady deal with North Korea through the businessman for his own political purposes. Kim, the former SBW chairman, met with Ri Ho-nam, a senior North Korean official from the Ministry of State Security, at events co-hosted by the Gyeonggi provincial government and the Asia Pacific Exchange Association under the local government. Ri’s name repeatedly appeared in explosive cases over security issues between South and North Korea. The prosecution must get to the bottom of the suspicion over Lee’s methodical attempt to go to North Korea.

Lee flatly denied allegations against him. “The prosecution seems to have finished a new novel, but it will not be sold at all,” he said. But the recent developments point in the opposite direction. The former SBW Group chairman reportedly told prosecutors that Lee thanked him for his efforts over the phone in a meeting between North Korean officials and South Korean companies in Shenyang, China in 2019. The truth must be told.

Lee’s explanations about his relationship with Kim, the former SBW chairman, are also contradictory. In the beginning, Lee said he had nothing to do with Km. But in an interview later, Lee hinted at the possibility of having a phone conversation with Kim even though he could not remember it well. But Kim changed his words and admitted he knew Lee.

The suspicions over Lee’s involvement in the Daejang-dong development scandal and his taking a “third-party” bribe through a football club he headed as Seongnam mayor are both related to his political ambitions. If Lee is really a man of integrity, he must cooperate with the prosecution to find the truth behind mushrooming suspicions. But Lee chose to mobilize his supporters to stage a massive rally this weekend to attack the prosecution and the government. The DP must not forget that such an aberrant response cannot conceal the truth.
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