ALLEGATIONS OVER JEONG RECEIVING BRIBES

[Anchor Lead]

The prosecution is investigating Jeong Jin-sang, the head of the party leader's political affairs coordination office, just one day after the indictment of Kim Yong, the assistant director of the Institute for Democracy and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung's confidant. Jeong's home and office were searched and items seized. He is accused of receiving 140 million won in bribes from the participants of the Daejang-dong development project.

[Pkg]

The prosecution raided the home of Jeong Jin-sang, head of the Democratic Party leader's political affairs coordination office. They searched through the house and also secured surveillance footage and vehicle access records from the underground parking lot.

[Soundbite] (Prosecutor's Office Employee) : "(Is the search over?) ... (What are the materials about?) ..."

The search and seizure warrant included the secretary's office for the Democratic Party leader inside both the DP headquarters building and the National Assembly. The prosecution accused Jeong of receiving bribes and violating the anti-corruption law. Jeong allegedly received 140 million won in kickback from the Daejang-dong developers through former Seongnam Development Corporation executive Yoo Dong-gyu. The investigators appear to have identified the time and place of bribe delivery through testimonies and started to look for specfic evidence. The prosecution noted Jeong's long-time collusive relationship with the Daejang-dong developers as the reason for several bribe hand-offs since 2013. Jeong is believed to have shared policy details and formed close relationships with Yoo Dong-gyu, officials from other affiliated organizations, and the Daejang-dong project participants ever since his days as a policy secretary at the Seongnam city government. Jeong has been continuously claiming that the allegations raised by the prosecution are nothing but lies.

[Soundbite] (Attorney for Jeong Jin-sang) : "They don't have any objective evidence except for Yoo Dong-gyu's testimony."

At the recent trial, Yoo Dong-gyu and attorney Nam Wook, who had led the Daejang-dong land development project, pointed to Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung as someone ultimately responsible for the project. As Lee Jae-myung's two closest associates, Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong, came under investigation, it is likely for investigators to step up their probe into Lee's involvement in the scandal.