LEE ON LAND SPECULATION INVESTIGATION

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Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said he is willing to accept special prosecution if the investigation into the alleged urban development scandal was inadequate. He has been under pressure from the opposition party to be investigated by a special prosecutor. It was conditional acceptance, but his stance was quite different than before when he outright rejected special prosecution as a political attack. The opposition party denounced Lee’s conditional acceptance as an attempt to buy time, but it remains to be seen whether a debate on special prosecution will actually take place.

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Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung expressed willingness to allow special prosecution under select conditions. He had been under pressure to accept special prosecution to investigate his alleged role in a land development scandal. He brought up this issue on his own in the keynote remark at a recent meeting.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Presidential Candidate) : "If there are any shortcomings or questions about the prosecution’s investigation, I want a more complete and thorough investigation by any means possible including special prosecution."

It was quite a change from his previous stance in which he said special prosecution can be misused politically and is an attempt to buy time. He proposed several preconditions. He maintained that a special prosecutor should also look into the allegations of People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl’s shoddy investigation of savings banks and 5-billion-won severance pay for PPP Representative Kwak Sang-do’s son. Calling it a cheap trick, Lee rejected Yoon’s proposal of simultaneously investigating both the development scandal and the filing of a criminal complaint by proxy.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Presidential Candidate) : "Tell me the troubles I’m in. But Yoon has many specific issues."

Following Lee’s remark, the DP leadership also mentioned the likelihood of special prosecution.

[Soundbite] Yun Ho-jung(DP floor leader) : "If a special prosecutor is needed because the prosecution’s investigation was insufficient, both sides can discuss that option."

The ruling and opposition blocs differ widely even on the simplest issue of investigation targets, undermining the possibility of special prosecution actually taking place. Lee started his diplomatic activities by meeting with Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, as well as Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming.