South Korean prosecutors yesterday indicted opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on corruption charges in a US$1 billion property development scandal dating to his previous stint as a mayor, Yonhap News Agency said.
Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, who lost to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in last year’s election, faces several charges, including bribery, corruption, breach of trust and conflicts of interests, Yonhap said.
Prosecutors have sought to arrest him after an 18-month investigation into the 1.5 trillion won (US$1.15 billion) construction project. Parliament, where Lee’s party holds a majority, voted down a motion last month to waive immunity granted to lawmakers.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Prosecutors have said that Lee colluded with a group of private property developers when he was mayor of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, to help them rake in more than 800 billion won from the project, while inflicting losses of nearly 490 million won on the city.
He was also accused of receiving or demanding more than 18 billion won from four companies in bribes to bankroll a financially strapped professional soccer club based in the city in return for administrative favors.
Prosecutors also indicted Jeong Jin-sang, one of Lee’s closest aides, who was arrested in November last year over the scandal, as his accomplice, Yonhap said.
Calls to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office went unanswered.
Lee, who was Seongnam mayor from 2010 to 2018, has denied any wrongdoing and accused prosecutors of fabricating charges out of political motives.
“The indictment was a predetermined outcome, but they just wanted to buy time for political shows,” Lee told a meeting with senior party members. “Now that the ball is in the court, I will do my best to uncover the truth.”
Lee’s indictment is likely to deepen problems for the Democrats, who have faced criticism that the party abused its majority power to prevent his arrest even as more voters call for electing a new chief.
In a poll released yesterday by R&Search, almost 48 percent of respondents said that Lee should resign, and about 45 percent opposed.
A Gallup survey last month showed about 57 percent supported eliminating lawmakers’ immunity from arrest, while 27 percent said it is needed to fight political persecution.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS