[WORD_ON_THE_WEB] 'I hope the result comes out as soon as possible'

A police investigation into allegations People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Lee Jun-seok received sexual services as a bribe is picking up speed.

A police investigation into allegations People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Lee Jun-seok received sexual services as a bribe is picking up speed. Lee allegedly received sexual services twice in Daejeon in 2013 in return for a business favor, arranged by Kim Sung-jin, founder and CEO of startup i-KAIST.

Lee was first accused by YouTube channel Hoverlab, which covers political issues, of influence peddling under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and breaching the Political Fund Law. He has denied all allegations.

The PPP will start a review procedure for disciplinary action regarding the allegations of accepting sexual favors at its Ethics Committee on July 7. “If there is any police investigation prioritized over the procedures conducted by the Ethics Committee when it comes to getting the facts straight, we can rely on that,” said Lee.

#the_suspicion_is_enough “All those expectations I had before have turned to disappointment because of the allegation itself.” “It is suspicious enough only when we look at the situation he was involved in.”

#innocent_until_proven_guilty “I’m not defending Lee, but blaming someone for accepting sexual favors without any sound basis is wrong. For politicians, keeping a good image is important.” “There is the presumption of innocence in our law. If you want to accuse someone of a crime, the burden of proof falls on the accuser, not the accused.”

#wait_and_see “I hope the result of the investigation comes out as soon as possible. If it turns out to be true, we will reject him. But if it’s a false accusation, we should prevent the YouTuber from making a profit.” “We will know whether it is true or not only after the ruling comes out. Until then, we should not judge him hastily.”

BY HWANG JAE-YOUNG, BY HAN HYE-RIM [han.hyerim1@joongang.co.kr]