South Korean prosecutors on Thursday requested an arrest warrant for opposition leader Lee Jae Myung in connection with a real estate corruption case.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested the warrant after determining that the matter is serious and that, as a result of the investigation, a severe sentence is «inevitable», which is why there are fears of flight and destruction of evidence, reports Yonhap news agency.
Despite the request, the Democratic Party (DP) leader is expected to avoid arrest because South Korean law states that prosecutors need parliamentary consent to detain a lawmaker.
In this sense, the National Assembly could deny consent for the arrest, since Lee’s party has a majority in that chamber, the agency said.
Lee, who has undergone several interrogations during the last month, has denied all the accusations and has pointed out that the investigation is politically orchestrated by the government to eliminate a «political enemy».
The probe is investigating irregularities in an urban development project in Daejang Dong, in Seongnam, south of Seoul, when Lee was mayor (2010-2018) of the aforementioned town. Prosecutors point out that the company, an expert in asset management, would have obtained 404 billion won (about 300 million euros) in profits thanks to «dubious» agreements approved by Lee.
In addition, there is an accusation of leaking labor secrets to private companies so that these companies could obtain extraordinary profits.
He has also denied involvement in several corruption scandals surrounding a local soccer team, Seongnam FC, for which he is facing bribery charges.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
