DP chief Lee indicted for misappropriating public funds as Gyeonggi governor

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DP chief Lee indicted for misappropriating public funds as Gyeonggi governor

Published: 19 Nov. 2024, 17:59 Updated: 19 Nov. 2024, 17:59

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung during a public appearance at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Liberal Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung was indicted by prosecutors on Tuesday on charges of misappropriating public funds during his term as Gyeonggi governor.

In its indictment, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office accused Lee of committing breach of trust against the Gyeonggi provincial government by spending 106.5 million won ($76,500) in taxpayers' money on personal expenses, such as sandwiches, fruit and meals.

Lee's former chief of staff, a Gyeonggi government official identified only by his surname Bae, was also indicted.

Prosecutors said they tracked Lee's alleged misappropriation through his use of an official expense card issued by the provincial government.

Lee is also accused of misusing an official vehicle provided by the Gyeonggi provincial government to undertake trips unrelated to his official duties.

Lee, who previously served as mayor of Seongnam from 2011 to 2018, also served one term as governor of Gyeonggi from July 2018 to October 2021, when he stepped down to run for the presidency.

Kim Hye-kyung, wife of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, leaves the Suwon District Court on Thursday after the conclusion of her first trial. [YONHAP]

The charges against Lee closely resembled those levied against his wife, Kim Hye-kyung, who was sentenced to a fine of 1.5 million won ($1,068) on Thursday for treating spouses of former and current DP members to dinner at the provincial government's expense during the DP's 2022 presidential primary.

The latest indictment against Lee is the fifth targeting the DP leader in recent months.

On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court convicted Lee of lying on the campaign trail during his 2022 presidential run, thereby violating the Public Official Election Act.

If upheld, Lee's suspended sentence of one year in prison could result in the loss of his parliamentary seat and bar him from running in the 2027 presidential election.

On Nov. 25, the Seoul Central District Court is also due to rule in a subornation case where Lee has been accused of pressuring a secretary of former Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang to give false court testimony in his favor in 2018, when he was previously charged with violating election law but was let off with a small fine.

Prosecutors have requested a three-year sentence for the DP leader in that case.

Lee is also under trial for his alleged role in the Daejang-dong development in Seongnam, where he has been accused of committing breach of trust by skewing the project's profit distribution scheme to favor minor investors over the city-owned developer.

He has separately been accused of committing third-party bribery and violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act by asking South Korean underwear manufacturer Ssangbangwool to pay a total of $8 million to North Korea from 2019 to 2020 using Gyeonggi's vice governor Lee Hwa-young as an intermediary.

According to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, $5 million was earmarked for Gyeonggi's agricultural assistance project in the North, but the rest was intended to curry favor with Pyongyang to pave the way for a potential visit by Lee Jae-myung.

Both the former chairman of Ssangbangwool, Kim Seong-tae, and Lee Hwa-young have been convicted and sentenced to prison for their roles in facilitating the payments to the North.

At an anti-government rally in central Seoul on Saturday, the DP leader accused prosecutors of running politically motivated investigations against him and vowed to remain unbowed by Friday's court ruling, declaring, "Lee Jae-myung will not die. Democracy will not die. This country's future will not die."

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG AND MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]