SEONGNAM, South Korea, A former chief of staff to opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who was found dead Thursday night in an apparent suicide, is said to have left a note complaining about being investigated by prosecutors in connection with Lee’s corruption allegations, informed officials said Friday.
The deceased, surnamed Jeon, had served as Lee’s chief secretary during his term as the mayor of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, before becoming his first chief of staff after Lee was elected governor of Gyeonggi Province in mid-2018.
Jeon was found dead at his home in Seongnam at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, and police said they have yet to find any sign of foul play in his death.
According to the officials, a six-page suicide note apparently written by Jeon was found on the scene. Jeon reportedly said in the note that he only worked hard but felt wronged after becoming a target of the prosecution’s investigation.
Jeon is also known to have mentioned Lee’s name but his family has refused to disclose the note, reportedly saying that he was stressed out as his name was mentioned in recent media reports on Lee’s corruption allegations.
Indeed, Jeon’s name was mentioned during a Jan. 31 court trial on former Gyeonggi Vice Gov. Lee Hwa-young, who is suspected of having received bribes from underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group and being involved in former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae’s foreign currency transfers to North Korea.
A former Ssangbangwool executive said as a witness during the trial at the Suwon District Court that in May 2019, the then Gyeonggi governor’s chief of staff visited the mortuary of Kim’s mother to offer condolences.
Jeon retired at the end of last year after serving as acting president of Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corp.
Before and after his retirement, Jeon was reportedly questioned by prosecutors in connection with allegations of Lee’s third-party bribery surrounding corporate donations to football club Seongnam FC.
The case centers on the allegations that the city government of Seongnam attracted about 13.3 billion won (US$10 million) in donations from four entities to Seongnam FC in return for administrative favors in the mid-2010s, when Lee Jae-myung was serving as the city’s mayor.
Source: Yonhap News Agency