The arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung (59), leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was suspected of receiving preferential treatment for the Baekhyeon-dong development project and being involved in Ssangbangwool Group’s alleged involvement in remittances to North Korea, was dismissed by the court on the 27th. The prosecution, facing an inevitable setback in its plan to arrest and investigate the leader of the main opposition party for the first time in constitutional history, is expected to conclude the investigation by indicting the leader without detention after the Chuseok holiday.
Seoul Central District Court Chief Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, in charge메이저사이트 of warrants, said at around 2:23 a.m. on the 27th, “It appears that the charge of instigation of perjury has been clarified,” but added, “Considering the degree of need to guarantee the suspect’s right to defense and the degree of concern about destruction of evidence, the principle of investigation without detention can be justified.” He dismissed the warrant for Representative Lee, saying, “It is difficult to say that there is a reason or necessity for arrest to the extent of excluding it.”
The warrant examination was conducted for 9 hours and 16 minutes from approximately 10:07 am to 7:23 pm on the 26th. It was the second-longest warrant review in history, following former Blue House National Security Office Director Seo Hoon (10 hours and 5 minutes), who was arrested in December last year on charges of covering up the attack on a public official in Seohae.
During the warrant review, the prosecution emphasized that CEO Lee had ordered unfair work to Seongnam City officials in relation to the Baekhyeon-dong suspicions, and regarding Ssangbangwool’s remittances to North Korea, they disclosed the circumstances in which CEO Lee was directly briefed on the North Korea business. Representative Lee’s defense team responded by saying, “As the prosecution conducted an extensive investigation over a year and a half, there is no more evidence to destroy, and there is no need to worry about destroying evidence because there are many parts that are not criminal in legal terms.” Representative Lee is also said to have been given the opportunity to speak several times and refute the prosecution’s claims.
The prosecution, which failed to secure a new criminal for Representative Lee, is expected to conduct a final investigation and indict Lee without detention after the Chuseok holiday.
Representative Lee, who has overcome the risk of arrest, is expected to begin solidifying his pro-government system in earnest ahead of next year’s general election. While the Supreme Committee previously defined the vote to approve the arrest of Representative Lee as a ‘relevant act’, internal strife within the party is expected to intensify over the search and disciplinary action against non-Lee Jae-myeong members.
Court: “It is difficult to say that there is a risk of Lee Jae-myeong destroying evidence.”
During the pre-arrest interrogation (substantive warrant review) of Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, held on the 26th, the prosecution newly disclosed the circumstances surrounding Lee’s involvement in the appeasement of Lee Hwa-young, former vice-governor of Gyeonggi Province for Peace, and emphasized concerns about destruction of evidence. However, Yoo Chang-hoon, chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, dismissed the warrant at 2:23 a.m. on the 27th, saying, “It is difficult to say that there is a concern about the destruction of evidence.”
Chief Judge Yoo said, “In the case of the perjury teacher and the Baekhyeon-dong development project, it is difficult to say that there is a concern about destruction of evidence in light of the human and material data secured to date.” Regarding the remittance incident to North Korea, “There are circumstances that raise suspicion of inappropriate intervention by people around the suspect (Representative Lee), but there is insufficient data to conclude that the suspect was directly involved,” and “We conclude that there is concern about destruction of evidence.” “It’s difficult to do,” he said.
For the first time in constitutional history, a warrant review was conducted for the representative of the main opposition party, but as the representative escaped arrest, the prosecution faced criticism from the opposition party for ‘excessive investigation by political prosecutors’. As the prosecution’s remaining investigation is also put on hold, it is expected that the investigation related to Representative Lee will be concluded with the indictment without detention after the Chuseok holiday.
● “Additional disclosure of circumstances of destruction of evidence”
vs. “Prosecutors put pressure on Lee Hwa-young”The prosecution and Representative Lee’s side had a fierce battle for about 9 hours and 16 minutes during the warrant review on the 26th. This is the second record in history, following the 10 hours and 5 minutes that former Blue House National Security Office Director Seo Hoon underwent a warrant review due to suspicions of concealing the attack on a public official in Seohae. On this day, the prosecution deployed 10 current prosecutors and emphasized the need for a detention investigation with a presentation (PPT) of about 500 pages, and Lee’s six lawyers, including former high prosecutor Park Kyun-taek and former chief judge Kim Jong-geun and Lee Seung-yeop, presented a presentation of about 150 pages . We countered with PPT .
In particular, the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office investigation team is said to have newly disclosed the circumstances in which Representative Lee persuaded former Deputy Governor Lee for Peace, a key figure in the suspicion of money transfers to North Korea, through former Gyeonggi Province Peace and Cooperation Director Shin (who is in prison). During a previous prosecution investigation, CEO Lee reportedly stated that he did not know about former Director Shin, who was in charge of North Korea business operations, saying, “I don’t know because he is a low-level employee.” However, the prosecution is said to have disclosed in court on this day a text message in which CEO Lee received contact information for former Deputy Governor Lee’s wife Baek from former Director Shin the day after Ahn Busu, head of the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association (in prison), was arrested in November of last year. .
The prosecution is also said to have played in court a recording of Democratic Party officials meeting with former Deputy Governor Lee and requesting a so-called ‘incarceration letter’ stating that Lee was not involved. In addition, while the investigation into remittances to North Korea was ongoing, it was said that circumstances had been identified that the head of the political affairs coordination department of the party’s representative office, Mr. Yoon, illegally leaked official documents from Gyeonggi Province under the direction of Representative Lee. The prosecution reportedly revealed these details during the warrant review and claimed, “Considering the blatant attempts to obstruct justice that are still ongoing, there will be intensive cajoling and pressure during the future investigation and trial process.”
On the other hand, Representative Lee’s side is said to have countered with the statement, “Legal testimony from many of the people involved has been secured through related trials already in progress, and just because the documents were leaked does not mean the evidence has disappeared.” He also continued his position that the prosecution obtained the former vice-governor’s false statements through cajoling and pressure, saying, “The North Korea project was former Vice-Governor Lee’s decision.”
● Lee Jae-myeong “I feel like I have become a world-class person”It was reported that the tension between the prosecution and the defense team was at its peak when Representative Lee was fighting over the need for detention, including the charge of inciting perjury and destruction of evidence in the so-called ‘impersonation of a prosecutor’ trial.
Chief Judge Yu is said to have asked Representative Lee questions such as, “This is a very important project for North Korea, but isn’t it common sense to assume that a report has been received?” Representative Lee reportedly responded, “If it was an important issue, I would have remembered it and taken care of it, but I don’t remember.” Representative Lee, who was given the right to speak and denied the charges directly, also complained of injustice in his final statement, which lasted about 15 minutes, saying, “I didn’t make a single penny of profit, but it seems like I have become a public figure to the world after the development of Daejang-dong.”
