Prosecutor says summons of DP leader necessary in development scandal probe

▲ Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, attends a party meeting at the National Assembly on July 31, 2023. (Yonhap)

DP leader-prosecution

Prosecutor says summons of DP leader necessary in development scandal probe

SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors investigating allegations of favoritism surrounding a land development project in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, in the mid-2010s have decided to summon opposition leader Lee Jae-myung who served as the city's mayor at that time, a prosecution official said Thursday.

The official at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office told reporters that it has become necessary to investigate the chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, who oversaw the development project in Seongman's Baekhyeon-dong district as the mayor, and the relevant procedures will soon be reviewed.

The timing of the summons and questioning of Lee will be determined in accordance with the investigation situation and through consultation with his side, the official said.

The so-called Baekhyeon-dong scandal centered on allegations that the municipal government of Seongnam gave special treatment to a private developer, which developed the former site of the Korea Food Research Institute in the district into apartment complexes between 2015 and 2016.

The private developer, named Seongnam R&D PFV, has allegedly earned windfall profits worth 318.5 billion won (US$245 million) as of the end of last year after the city somehow canceled an original plan to provide rental homes and instead allowed the developer to sell homes to consumers.

Asia Developer, the largest shareholder in Seongnam R&D PFV, has allegedly earned a dividend income of about 70 billion won.

The city government changed its zoning regulations in the process of the Baekhyeon-dong project and prosecutors suspect Lee was the final decision maker who made it possible to change the city's various approval processes to the advantage of private developers.

Prosecutors also suspect that an acquaintance of Lee's right-hand man named Jeong Jin-sang may have been involved in the process of Asia Developer obtaining preferential approvals on the project from the city government.

In this regard, Jeong was already summoned by the prosecution as a suspect in the case on July 25. The legal circles speculate that the prosecution is highly likely to request an arrest warrant for Lee after questioning him over the Baekhyeong-dong allegations.

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