Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended a trial on February 4 at the Seoul Central District Court concerning allegations of bribery related to the “Daejang-dong, Wirye, Seongnam FC, and Baekhyeon-dong scandals.” As he entered the court, he responded to reporters’ questions, stating, “I hope there will be more interest in the insurrection case orchestrated by the People Power Party’s number one member (President Yoon Suk-yeol) than in the politically motivated falsified charges against me, which are backed by no evidence.”
Before attending the trial, which concerns charges of violating a specific crime-related aggravated punishment law (bribery), Lee remarked to journalists, “The People Power Party is defending the military rebellion act that has destroyed the constitutional order, attacking the judiciary in the process. Such actions threaten the maintenance of the constitutional order in South Korea.”
He continued, “Even in politics, a certain level of ethics must be maintained. It’s unacceptable to support and defend an act of military rebellion and insurrection that completely violates the constitutional principles agreed upon by the people. I urge more attention to be paid to this issue.”
Lee did not answer when asked if he had any comments regarding the trial before entering the court.
Lee is accused of violating the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act by allegedly divulging confidential information regarding the Daejang-dong development project, allowing private developers to gain 788.6 billion won in profits during his time as the mayor of Seongnam from August 2014. He is also charged with designing a favorable business structure for private developers that resulted in a 489.5 billion won loss for the Seongnam Development Corporation.
In relation to the Wirye New Town development project, he’s accused of enabling private developers to obtain 21.1 billion won in undue profits through inside information. Additionally, as the owner of the Seongnam FC, he is implicated in facilitating construction permits and land use changes in return for sponsorships totaling 13.35 billion won from companies like Doosan Construction, Naver, Cha Hospital, and Blue Wirye.