SEOUL– Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung strongly denounced the prosecution’s attempt to raid the headquarters of his Democratic Party as “oppression” of the opposition Thursday and claimed his innocence after a long-time confidant was detained on bribery charges.
DP Chairman Lee made the remarks a day after prosecutors apprehended Kim Yong, one of Lee’s closest confidants, on bribery charges and attempted unsuccessfully to raid the DP headquarters where Kim’s office is located.
Kim is suspected of receiving some 800 million won (US$558,932) worth of illegal political funds between April and August last year from private companies in connection with a land development project south of Seoul.
Critics raised suspicions that the money could have been used for Lee’s election campaign.
“It’s not politics, it’s simply oppression,” Lee said of the raid attempt. “It is so pitiful that political power entrusted by the people is wasted on oppressing the opposition at a time when people’s livelihoods are in a difficult situation and peace on the Korean Peninsula is facing a crisis.”
Lee also flatly denied allegations the bribes Kim is suspected of taking could have been used for his campaign, saying he has never used a penny of illegal funds.
“The truth is clear,” he said.
Lee lost the presidential election in March to President Yoon Suk-yeol by a slim margin.
In protest against the raid attempt, the DP halted the ongoing parliamentary audits.
But the DP decided to return to the parliamentary audit on Thursday, saying that it would fulfill its duty as the main opposition party.
“The parliamentary audit is an important place for the opposition party to protect the people’s livelihood and keep the government in check,” the DP’s floor spokesperson Lee Soo-jin told reporters.
“The government and the ruling party have abandoned people’s livelihood, but the Democratic Party is conducting the parliamentary audit to protect people’s livelihood until the end,” the spokesperson said.
Prosecutor-general Lee One-seok, meanwhile, urged the DP to cooperate with the search, saying the former presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, National Assembly members’ office and courts have also been raided before.
“How can we oppress and retaliate against the main opposition party that holds the majority of seats in the parliament?” Lee said during a parliamentary audit session of the Supreme Prosecutors Office.
Source: Yonhap News Agency