PROSECUTION SUMMONS LEE JAE-MYUNG

[Anchor Lead]

Prosecutors have notified the newly elected leader of the main opposition Democratic Party(DP) Lee Jae-myung to appear for questioning over alleged election law violations during the presidential campaign for which the statute of limitations expires next week. During questioning, investigators will also ask him about the veracity of his past remarks on controversial development projects.

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Just days after Lee Jae-myung was elected as the main opposition leader, the prosecution sent a summons to the DP chief. He is asked to appear for questioning on Tuesday at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office which is looking into allegations that he lied about the Daejang-dong development project. During the presidential campaign, Lee denied being acquainted with a late official of the Seongnam Development Corporation Kim Moon-ki who oversaw working-level matters related to the Daejang-dong project.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(Then-Pres. candidate of DP (Dec. 22, 2021, Aired on SBS)) : "I didn't know Kim Moon-ki when I was Seongnam mayor because he was a lower-level official, probably head of a team."

Kim committed suicide while undergoing investigation into the scandal. After his death, a photo of Lee and Kim taken together emerged, which prompted a civic group to file a complaint against Lee. In next week's summon, prosecutors will question Lee about whether he really did not know Kim or if his past claim was a lie. At the same time, Lee will also be grilled over suspicions of making false remarks about another disputed development project, this one in Baekhyeon-dong in Seongnam City. He is accused of not speaking truthfully about a change in land use terms related to the construction project.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(Then-Gyeonggi-do Prov. Governor (Oct. 2021, Parliamentary audit)) : "The land ministry threatened me over dereliction of duty if I did not allow a change in land use terms for the project. So what I did at the time was reflecting the ministry's opinion but only partially."

Seongnam branch prosecutors will go over to the Seoul Central District Office to face Lee next week. The DP chair could also be asked about completely different cases on this day including allegations involving his payment of lawyer fees. It's highly unusual to have separate cases investigated at the same time. The prosecution claims to have made adjustments as to not inconvenience the DP chairman too much. One official explained that generally, when several district offices are probing different cases, separate summons are the norm. He said that prosecutors visiting another location for questioning indicates the opposition leader is being treated with respect. There is just one week left before the statute of limitations expires on election law violation charges related to the recent presidential election.