DP leader Lee Jae-myung indicted over alleged misuse of government funds

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DP leader Lee Jae-myung indicted over alleged misuse of government funds

Published: 19 Nov. 2024, 11:15 Updated: 19 Nov. 2024, 11:18

Lee Jae-myung, the liberal Democratic Party (DP) leader, leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, after attending his first trial on election law violation case on Friday. The court handed Lee a one-year prison sentence, suspended for two years. [CHOI GI-UNG]

The prosecution indicted liberal Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday without detention on charges of misappropriating funds from the Gyeonggi provincial government, including misuse of corporate cards.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office indicted Lee, along with his former chief of staff and a Gyeonggi government official named Bae, on charges of occupational breach of trust, without detention.

Lee is accused of using a Gyeonggi provincial government vehicle for personal purposes while serving as governor between July 2018 and October 2021.

The former governor is also accused of spending 106.5 million won ($76,500) in provincial government funds, including through corporate cards, on personal items such as sandwiches, fruit and meals.

Lee's wife, Kim Hye-kyung, was indicted without detention on similar charges.

Separately, the Seoul Central District Court on Friday sentenced Lee to one year in prison, suspended for two years, in an election law violation case. If upheld, the ruling could result in the loss of his parliamentary seat and bar him from running in the presidential election.

At a weekend rally organized by the DP in central Seoul on Saturday, Lee 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 [[email protected]]