DP, Justice Party up pressure to investigate first lady

Politics

Published: 07 Mar. 2023, 19:07

DP, Justice Party up pressure to investigate first lady

Justice Party floor leader Lee Eun-ju and Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-keun during a meeting held at the National Assembly on Monday. [YONHAP]

Political parties opposed to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration are increasing their pressure to investigate the first lady for alleged involvement in stock price manipulation.

The latest pressure, led by the Democratic Party (DP), comes as the “judicial risk” against DP chief Lee Jae-myung intensifies with two more court appearances scheduled this month.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-keun said the DP and minor liberal opposition Justice Party will push bills to create special counsels for the so-called “5 Billion Won Club” and first lady Kim Keon-hee.

“The Democratic Party will gladly accept the Justice Party’s nominations on the special counsel candidates if the public can fully back them,” said Hong.

He urged the People Power Party (PPP) to get behind the special counsel to investigate the first lady.

The DP floor leader warned that if the main conservative party fails to back the proposed special counsels, his party — which has a parliamentary majority — will have no choice but to push through the special counsel bills with the help of the Justice Party.

By law, only a political party with 20 or more seats in the National Assembly can table an independent counsel bill.

While the DP meets this condition with 169 seats, the Justice Party does not with only six seats.

However, the DP needs the help of the Justice Party to launch the special counsel, which requires the consent of three fifths of the National Assembly, or 180 votes.

A DP task force Tuesday also submitted questions for the government to the National Assembly regarding the prosecutors’ investigation into the first lady.

Justice Party floor leader Lee Eun-ju and Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-keun during a meeting held at the National Assembly on Monday. [YONHAP]

The questionnaire asked if prosecutors actually investigated her case, and if so, when. The DP also asked when prosecutors will summon the first lady.

Under the National Assembly Act, the government must reply within 10 days of receiving the questions.

Justice Party floor leader Lee Eun-ju said her party will begin steps to table a motion to create a special counsel to investigate the first lady and her alleged involvement in manipulating Deutsch Motors’ stock.

“Yesterday I visited the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to urge it to immediately summon First Lady Kim,” Lee said. “What the Justice Party found was that it is not a living prosecutor’s office, but a dead one.”

She accused the prosecutors’ office being heavily influenced by President Yoon’s office.

“Isn’t the honest answer is that the investigation orders are being made by the Yongsan presidential office and the Justice Ministry?” Lee asked rhetorically.

“We can no longer allow the prosecutor’s office to handle the first lady’s Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case.”

The push by both the DP and Justice Party came a day after the floor leaders met on Monday.

The investigation into the stock manipulation allegations officially kicked off under the Moon Jae-in administration in July 2021, after Yoon resigned as head of the prosecutors’ office.

The case involves the former head of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer, Kwon Oh-soo, who was given a suspended prison term of two years last month after being convicted for manipulating the price of the company’s stock between 2009 and 2012.

Seoul Central District Court, which oversaw Kwon’s case, acknowledged that three accounts belonging to the first lady and one account owned by her mother Choi Eun-soon were used in the stock manipulation.

However, Kim was never implicated as a co-conspirator as she was among 90 investors who lent their accounts used in the stock scheme.

The investors and Kim were never proven to have played a role in the stock manipulation.

Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Bok-hyun, who was on the team that investigated the first lady during the Moon administration, told lawmakers last month that there were attempts by prosecutors to indict Kim over Deutsche Motors.

Lee said there was pressure from the top to indict the current first lady.

“But there was no evidence to indict,” Lee said. “Because the investigation was so political, I resigned.”

The PPP fired back by saying that the DP is trying to give a free pass to its leader Lee Jae-myung by allowing him to pick the independent counsel who will look into the 5 Billion Won Club, in which he is implicated.

“The independent counsel legislation will be something like allowing the cat to guard the fish,” said PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young.

The 5 Billion Won Club involves a private development company accused of offered payments of 5 billion won to prominent figures like Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il and former PPP lawmaker Kwak Sang-do in return for helping the company gain a better share of the profits from the Daejang-dong land development scheme in Seongnam, Gyeonggi.

DP chair Lee has been implicated in the allegations surrounding Daejang-dong as he authorized the project as Seongnam’s mayor at the time.

Lee narrowly dodged a motion for his arrest last Monday on charges related to the Daejang-dong case and other alleged wrongdoing.

Though the motion failed to win support from a parliamentary majority, more lawmakers voted for it than against it, 139 to 138.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]