▲ Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, leaves the Suwon District Prosecutors Office in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sept. 12, 2023, after facing hourslong questioning on allegations that he was involved in illegal money transfers by Ssangbangwool Group, an underwear manufacturer, to North Korea in return for his unrealized visit to Pyongyang in 2019, when he was governor of Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)

opposition leader-arrest warrant

Prosecutors request arrest warrant for Lee over development, N.K. remittance scandals

SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors on Monday requested an arrest warrant for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on breach of trust, bribery and other charges related to a scandal-ridden land development scandal and allegations of his involvement in a company's illegal cash remittance to North Korea.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office made the request, accusing Lee of committing breach of trust worth 20 billion won (US$15.06 million) by giving special treatment to a private developer in Seongnam's Baekhyeon-dong district apartment project between 2014 and 2015, when he was serving as the city's mayor.

Lee is also suspected of asking Ssangbangwool Group, an underwear maker, to illegally transfer $8 million to North Korea between 2019 and 2020, when he was serving as Gyeonggi Province governor, through his deputy to facilitate his visit to the North and push for a joint smart farm project between his province and Pyongyang.

A court hearing on Lee's arrest warrant can be held only after the National Assembly approves his arrest motion in a plenary vote.

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