Prosecutors request arrest warrant for DP leader Lee Jae-myung

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung exits Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office after being investigated on the land development project scandal on Feb. 10. [YONHAP]

Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung over the Daejang-dong real estate corruption case on Thursday.

This is the first time that prosecutors are seeking an arrest warrant for a sitting opposition party leader. The warrant request was filed a year and a half after the investigation into the Daejang-dong real estate corruption started.

The warrant cites that Lee violated several laws, accusing him of dereliction of duty, corruption and bribery.

According to prosecutors, Lee played an intricate part in allowing private property developers to pocket 789 billion won ($612 million) in illegal proceeds for the Daejang-dong project and and 21.1 billion won for the Wirye project.

As a result Lee is alleged to have caused financial damage of 489.5 billion won to the city's development corporation by removing a profit-sharing arrangement for the Daejang-dong project, allowing the private developers to pocket the excess profits.

Prosecutors are also alleging that sponsorship payments made in the mid-2010s to Seongnam FC by major businesses, including Doosan Engineering & Construction and Naver, were bribes in disguise to Lee, who served as mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018.

Lee underwent three rounds of questioning by prosecutors, most recently on Feb. 10, in relation to the development corruption and the bribery cases.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]