| Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, enters the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office to undergo questioning over allegations that he had provided administrative favors to a private developer for a property project in the Baekhyeon-dong district in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, while serving as the mayor in the mid-2010s, Aug. 17. Yonhap |
Prosecutors have booked opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on the charge of third-party bribery in connection with a company's allegedly illegal money transfers to North Korea, legal sources said Tuesday.
A team at the Suwon District Prosecutors Office is investigating allegations that Ssangbangwool Group, an underwear manufacturer, unlawfully remitted $8 million to North Korea between January 2019 and January 2020 on behalf of Gyeonggi Province.
Lee, the chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and a former presidential candidate, served as Gyeonggi governor from 2018 to 2021.
Prosecutors suspect that $3 million was intended to facilitate Lee's planned visit to Pyongyang, while the remainder was meant for Gyeonggi's smart farm support program in North Korea.
The prosecution believes that Lee was involved in the process of transferring the $3 million and has applied the charge of third-party bribery against him, according to the sources.
According to the criminal code, public officials who cause, demand or promise a bribe to a third party upon acceptance of an unjust solicitation in connection with their duties could face imprisonment of up to five years.
Lee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province who was charged in the same case, initially denied Lee Jae-myung's involvement. But he changed his statement in June and admitted to reporting to him about Ssangbangwool's remittances to the North.
Lee Hwa-young was arrested in September last year for accepting bribes from the company and was additionally indicted in March in connection with the cash transfer case.
Kim Seong-tae, the former chairman of the group, was also arrested and indicted in the same case.
The DPK chairman was already indicted in two corruption cases in March.
He faced charges of breach of duty, bribery and other counts related to an apartment development project in the city of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
He was also charged with third-party bribery over allegations that while serving as the head of Seongnam FC during his Seongnam mayorship, he secured 13.3 billion won in corporate donations for the football club from four companies in exchange for administrative favors between 2014 and 2016. Lee served as Seongnam mayor from 2010 to 2018. (Yonhap)