ARREST WARRANT ISSUED FOR LEE’S AIDE

[Anchor Lead]

A close aide of Democratic Party chairman Lee Jae-myung was questioned by prosecutors for over 13 hours. Jeong Jin-sang is accused of taking bribes from real estate developers related to the Daejang-dong scandal. He was grilled over the allegations as well as possible connection to the opposition chief. Prosecutors filed an arrest warrant request for Jeong Jin-sang on Wednesday.

[Pkg]

Jeong Jin-sang, who heads the Democratic Party chairman's policy coordination office, was summoned by the prosecution for questioning as a suspect. This comes 6 days after his home and offices were raided on November 9. Jeong is suspected of receiving 140 million won in kickbacks from key figures in the Daejangdong development scandal between 2013 and 2020. Prosecutors also suspect Jeong and Kim Yong, deputy head of the DP's Institute for Democracy think tank, received 42.8 billion won in dividends from the Daejangdong project. Prosecutors questioned Jeong on the allegations and to probe possible ties that may link the DP chair. Jeong has reportedly refuted the accusations as he previously denied having received any bribes. Following Kim Yong's indictment and Jeong's summons, the DP is angrily reacting to the developments. DP lawmakers made a protest visit to the prosecutors office and held a press conference in parliament, criticizing the search warrants as a sham. They pointed to one part in the warrant which stated that Yoo Dong-kyu, a key suspect in the scandal, used the stairs when he was delivering the money to avoid CCTV cameras. But DP officials argued there was a camera installed at the entrance and blasted prosecutors for relying only on testimony and failing to check the facts through onsite inspection. Prosecutors rebutted that onsite verification is a standard procedure and that they carried out all necessary inspections. They also expressed regret over a complaint filed by the DP with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on charges that the probe team publicized suspected crimes. Prosecutors said the DP was trying to hinder the investigation without any evidence. Prosecutors filed an arrest warrant request for Jeong Jin-sang on Wednesday.