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DP chief fined for defying court summons in Daejang-dong case

Published: 24 Mar. 2025, 17:16

Liberal Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, center, attends a court hearing over development corruption and bribery charges arising from his term as mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi, years ago, on March 11. [YONHAP]

Liberal Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was fined 3 million won ($2,043) on Monday for defying a court order to testify in a trial connected to a development scandal arising from his term as mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi, years ago.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the fine after Lee failed to show up at the trial for the second time.

The case centers on allegations that a group of private developers reaped massive profits from an apartment development project in Seongnam's Daejang-dong neighborhood in 2015, when Lee was the city's mayor, causing losses of 489.5 billion won to the municipal government.

By law, a witness who continues to defy a summons without legitimate grounds after being fined can be detained for up to seven days.

Lee is also facing a separate trial on charges of approving the development project after it was designed to be favorable to the private developers.

Yonhap