Arrest warrant sought for DP chief Lee over corruption charges

Politics

Published: 16 Feb. 2023, 18:08 Updated: 17 Feb. 2023, 14:39

Arrest warrant sought for DP chief Lee over corruption charges

Democratic Party (DP) chief Lee Jae-myung visits Gwanak District in southern Seoul on Thursday. Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for him over allegations of corruption and bribery on the same day. [YONHAP]

Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for Democratic Party (DP) chief and sitting lawmaker Lee Jae-myung on Thursday over allegations of corruption related to land development scandals and bribery related to Seongnam's football club.

This is the first time ever that the prosecution has sought an arrest warrant for the chief of the main opposing party.

Lee immediately decried it as a move by President Yoon Suk Yeol of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) to eliminate an "influential" political opponent.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office filed for a warrant to arrest Lee on charges of corruption, breach of duty and conflict of interest regarding development projects in Daejang-dong and Wirye, both in Gyeonggi's Seongnam, and bribery charges surrounding donations to the Seongnam FC, during his time as the city's mayor.

Lee served as Seongnam's mayor from 2010 to 2018.

Prosecutors claims Lee contributed to some 489.5 billion won ($382 million) in financial damages to the Seongnam Development Corporation in a breach of trust by approving the removal of a profit-sharing arrangement for the Daejang-dong project, enabling private contractors to pocket exponential profits between August 2014 to January this year.

Lee also is accused of leaking information from the municipal government through close aides, playing a role in enabling private developers to pocket some 788.6 billion won in profits for the Daejang-dong project.

In connection to the Wirye New Town project, Lee is accused of providing inside information to private developers in their selection process, enabling them to gain 21.1 billion won in profits from November 2013 to January 2018.

Lee also faces third-party bribery allegations during the time he served as the head of Seongnam FC from October 2014 to September 2016, attracting 13.3 billion won in corporate donations to the municipal football club from four companies, including Doosan Engineering & Construction Co. and Naver, in return for land permits and other administrative favors.

Over the past month, Lee underwent three rounds of questioning by prosecutors, first over the Seongnam FC bribery allegations on Jan. 10, and on the other corruption allegations on Jan. 28 and Feb. 10.

The prosecution said it sought an arrest warrant due to concern that Lee could destroy evidence.

Incumbent lawmakers have immunity from being arrested or detained while the National Assembly is in session without parliamentary consent.

As prosecutors are required to obtain parliamentary approval to arrest a sitting lawmaker, a Seoul district court is expected to send a request to the National Assembly through the prosecution and Justice Ministry to seek consent for Lee's arrest.

The National Assembly speaker will report the request in its first plenary session after receiving the document, expected to be around Feb. 24, and will have to put the arrest motion to a vote within 72 hours.

However, as the liberal DP holds a parliamentary majority of 169 seats, the body is unlikely to approve a motion consenting to Lee's arrest.

Lee was defeated in the March 9, 2022 presidential election by PPP candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. He later won a parliamentary seat representing Incheon's Gyeyang-B district in a June 1 by-election and became DP chairman in August.

"Today is the day when the dictatorship of prosecutor Yoon Suk Yeol declared the privatization of the prosecutorial power, and the rule of law collapsed due to a personal vendetta to remove a political enemy," said Lee in his party's supreme council meeting later that day. "We will resolutely stand against the destruction of the constitutional order by the prosecutors' dictatorship."

He said that a prosecution that "abuses state power to eliminate political opponents will surely be judged by the people and history."

Lee adamantly denied allegations against him and stressed he had "not taken a single penny of dishonest money."

"What I did was develop the region according to legal procedures with the authority given to the Seongnam mayor, achieving the long-cherished projects of its residents and returning some of the development profits to the private sector, to some citizens of Seongnam."

He added that there is no reason for his arrest, as he does not intend to flee the country or destroy evidence.

Lee expressed his outrage to reporters at the National Assembly later Thursday afternoon, saying his arrest warrant was because he was the head of the DP and because he has "a lot of influence."

The DP also denounced the move as being political "oppression" by the Yoon administration.

"This is an unprecedented act of violence aimed at incapacitating the opposing party and eliminating a political opponent of the president," said DP spokesperson An Ho-young to reporters. "From now on, it's war against Yoon Suk Yeol's prosecution."

In turn, the PPP urged the National Assembly to approve the arrest motion, and spokesperson Yang Geum-hee said in a statement that the request was "brought on by no other than Chairman Lee Jae-myung himself."

Kim Mi-ae, a PPP floor spokesperson, said that "The National Assembly should no longer be a refuge for criminals."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]