DP CHAIR APPEARS FOR QUESTIONING

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Main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is currently being questioned by prosecutors over allegations that he received 'third-party' bribes through the Seongnam FC football club.

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Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung appeared for prosecutor questioning regarding third-party bribery allegations. He arrived at the Suwon District Prosecutor's Office at 10:35 am Tuesday and gave a statement. Calling his appearance an unprecedented event in the country’s constitutional history, Lee said the investigation was a trap set by politically driven prosecutors.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(Chair, Democratic Party) : "This is a judicial coup d’etat where the prosecution has trumped up a crime and fabricated a case which was acquitted after years of investigation."

He also questioned whether efforts made by employees of Seongnam FC to attract corporate advertisement in a bid to save taxpayers money was to be criticized. Lee then entered the building for questioning. He is expected to be grilled mostly on third-party bribery allegations. When Lee was Seongnam mayor, six companies including Naver gave donations of 16 billion won to the municipal football club. Prosecutors believe this money was a bribe via a third party in return for administrative favors the city offered in various permits. Therefore Tuesday’s questioning will likely focus on whether there were unfair requests made and if so, whether they can be viewed as a quid pro quo. Regardless of whether Lee obtained any monetary gains in the process, the prosecution believes the city, by attracting donations, provided conveniences to the companies, expecting ‘political profit’ in return. Lee’s indictment will be determined after the questioning and many pundits suspect that he will likely be indicted. In earlier documents filed for the indictment of a Seongnam city official and former head of Doosan Engineering and Construction, the prosecution had indicated that Lee and his close aide Chung Jin-sang were co-conspirators. Meanwhile, from an hour before Lee’s arrival at the prosecutors office, his supporters and opposing conservative groups held rallies outside the building causing some chaotic scenes.