Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung appeared before prosecutors Thursday for questioning over suspicions surrounding a land development project in Seongnam, located just south of Seoul, during his previous term as the city's mayor.
Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party is facing allegations that he facilitated business favors for a private developer in connection with a property development project in Seongnam's Baekhyeon-dong district during his term as mayor in the mid-2010s.
It marks the fourth time Lee has come before prosecutors for questioning since he assumed the party leadership a year earlier, following three rounds of summons over bribery charges surrounding corporate donations to the municipal football club Seongnam FC and corruption charges arising from another development project during his term as mayor.
"It is already the fourth time that I have been summoned," Lee said after arriving at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office. "This is a fabricated investigation by political prosecutors trying to fabricate nonexistent crimes so as to cover up their shameful parts."
The so-called Baekhyeon-dong scandal centers on allegations that the municipal government of Seongnam gave special treatment to the private developer, named Seongnam R&D PFV, in connection with the project to develop the former site of the Korea Food Research Institute in the district into apartment complexes between 2015 and 2016. The firm allegedly earned windfall profits of 318.5 billion won (US$237.4 million) as a private partner of the project.
The city of Seongnam had initially put forth the city-run property developer, Seongnam Development Corp., as a developer for the lucrative project, but the company was excluded for unclear reasons.
During the Baekhyeon-dong project, the city government changed its zoning regulations and eased requirements for developers to set aside a portion of apartment units developed for less profitable rental homes.
Prosecutors suspect that the top leadership of the Seongnam city government, including then Mayor Lee, provided favors to the private developer after being lobbied by Kim In-seob, the campaign policy chief for Lee when he ran for the Seongnam mayorship.
Thursday's questioning is expected to focus on whether Lee gave his consent to or was involved in giving such business favors.
In a post on Facebook on Tuesday, Lee refuted the suspicions, saying the decisions were made in accordance with proposals from concerned divisions of the city government, which reviewed the project.
During his previous prosecution questioning early this year, Lee reportedly submitted a written statement prepared in advance and refused to verbally answer questions.
Source: Yonhap News Agency