SEOUL– Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will hold a previously unannounced press conference at 11 a.m., officials said, as a prosecution investigation closes in on him after an arrest warrant was sought for one of his closest aides on charges of taking illegal campaign funds.
Kim Yong, a long-time confidant of Lee, is suspected of receiving 847 million won (US$593,552) in illegal political funds last year from real estate developers involved in a corruption-laden project in the city of Seongnam when Lee was mayor.
Prosecutors suspect the money was used to help finance Lee’s presidential campaign.
Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, has denied any wrongdoing, saying he never used a penny of illegal money and he believes Kim is innocent.
Lee and his party have denounced the prosecution investigation as a political reprisal and an attempt to supress the opposition.
“The government and the ruling party seem to be trying to annihilate and deny the existence of the opposition party,” Lee said.
The investigation gained speed after Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp. involved in the land development project, told investigators that he relayed the money to Kim from private developers.
DP floor leader Park Hong-geun raised suspicion that prosecutors released Yoo in return for the statement.
Yoo was arrested and indicted last year for his alleged involvement in the development scandal and other charges and was released from jail early Thursday due to an expiration of a legal detainment period.
“We have to suspect that Yoo Dong-gyu and the prosecution had a shared interest in lowering the criminal penalty for Yoo and weaving Lee Jae-myung into the case through Kim,” Park said in a radio interview.
Source: Yonhap News Agency