DP elects new floor leader as party chief appears in court

Politics

Published: 26 Sep. 2023, 18:19 Updated: 26 Sep. 2023, 19:38

DP elects new floor leader as party chief appears in court

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung arrives at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Tuesday to attend his arrest warrant hearing. [YONHAP]

Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung appeared at Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday morning to attend a hearing on an arrest warrant request filed by prosecutors accusing him of corruption charges.

His hearing took place the same day that DP members elected a Lee ally, three-term lawmaker Rep. Hook Ihk-pyo, as the party’s new floor leader in the wake of the DP-controlled National Assembly’s approval of a motion waiving Lee’s immunity to arrest as a sitting lawmaker.

The court is expected to reach a decision as to whether there is enough risk that Lee could tamper with evidence to warrant arrest by Tuesday night or early Wednesday.

The DP leader, who ended a 24-day hunger strike against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Saturday, did not answer questions from reporters as he walked slowly with a walking stick from his car to enter the court.

Lee is the first incumbent leader of a major political party in Korea to potentially face arrest.

Lee was met upon arrival at the court with hundreds of supporters and detractors holding dueling placards that either defended him as the victim of a prosecutorial inquisition or labeled him the “ringleader” behind multiple corruption scandals.

The DP leader faces various charges including breach of trust and bribery related to scandal-ridden development projects in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, where he served as mayor from 2010 to 2018, as well as his alleged role in an underwear company’s illegal payments to North Korea.

Prosecutors accuse Lee of committing breach of trust amounting to approximately 20 billion won ($15 million) against the Seongnam municipal government and public development corporation by enabling private investors and developers to reap outsized profits from the city’s Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong development projects, which took off in 2014 and 2015.

Lee, who subsequently served as Gyeonggi governor from 2018 to 2021, is also suspected of committing bribery through a third party and violating international sanctions by asking underwear manufacturer Ssangbangwool to illegally transfer $8 million to North Korea from 2019 to 2020.

Prosecutors claim Lee’s deputy arranged the payments and that they were intended to facilitate Lee’s visit to the North and woo Pyongyang to engage in an inter-Korean economic exchange project with Gyeonggi.

The court’s decision to issue the arrest warrant request — or reject it — could weaken or strengthen Lee’s standing within his own party, as well as the credibility of the state prosecution service and the wider government.

Lee and his party have accused prosecutors of carrying out a politically motivated investigation to dent support for the DP ahead of the general election scheduled to take place in April.

Lee’s arrest warrant hearing comes after the National Assembly waived Lee’s immunity to arrest in a 149-136 vote on Thursday, marking the first time that the legislature has given its consent to the arrest of the leader of a major political party.

While the parliamentary vote on the arrest motion against Lee was conducted anonymously, the tally showed that almost 30 of the DP’s 167 lawmakers unexpectedly broke ranks to allow their leader’s arrest.

The surprise defections led DP floor leader Park Kwang-on to resign on Friday and has given rise to mounting calls from party members and supporters for retribution against DP lawmakers who voted to allow Lee’s arrest.

Party officials announced on Tuesday afternoon that Rep. Hoon Ihk-pyo had beat out Reps. Kim Min-seok and Nam In-soon in a three-way race to replace Park as floor leader.

A fourth candidate, Rep. Woo Won-shik, withdrew from the race earlier in the day.

Hoon, who represents Seoul’s Jung-Seongdong A constituency, said in his acceptance speech that he would strive to reunify the party and work “together with Lee Jae-myung” to win the upcoming general election.

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