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| ▲ Lee Jae-myung, chair of the Democratic Party leaves the Seoul Central District Court on Oct. 6, 2023 after attending a hearing. |
(LEAD) opposition leader-indictment
(LEAD) Prosecutors indict opposition leader Lee over corruption charges
(ATTN: UPDATES with more info from 4th para)
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors on Thursday indicted opposition leader Lee Jae-myung without physical detention over corruption charges, two weeks after a court rejected an arrest warrant sought for him.
Lee of the Democratic Party has been accused of breach of trust, bribery and other charges stemming from his time as the mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, from 2014-2018 in connection with a scandal-ridden land development project in the city's Bundang district.
The prosecution has accused Lee of committing a breach of trust worth 20 billion won (US$15 million) by giving special treatment to a private developer in the Baekhyeon-dong district apartment project between 2014 and 2015.
The prosecution of Lee, along with his right-hand man named Jeong Jin-sang as an accomplice, by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office came after a Seoul court decided on Sept. 27 not to issue an arrest warrant for him.
The National Assembly had earlier voted to lift the opposition leader's immunity from arrest in a surprise, narrow 149-136 vote attributed to a number of dissenting ballots from his own party that commands a majority of parliamentary seats.
By law, sitting lawmakers are immune from arrest while parliament is in session unless the National Assembly passes a motion giving its consent to the arrest, a measure intended to shield lawmakers from political persecution.
Lee and his party have vehemently lambasted the prosecution for what they called the "persecution" of the opposition party and accused the Yoon Suk Yeol government of an attempt to "remove a political enemy."
Lee is already standing trial on two other separate cases, involving alleged election law violations during his run for the 2022 presidential election and corruption charges connected to another property development project launched during his term as Seongnam mayor, respectively.
Prosecutors are also expected to additionally indict Lee in the near future on two other cases, including one involving an underwear company's suspected illegal transfer of $8 million to North Korea.
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