Prosecutors summon DP's Lee Jae-myung over alleged favoritism in development project

Lee accused the government of targeting him as a diversion from their own crisis. Bae So-hyeon, a close aide to Lee, received a 10-month prison sentence and 160 hours of community service for violating election laws and spreading false information.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung attends the party's meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The prosecution has summoned Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung for questioning as part of its probe into the Baekhyeon-dong development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, during his time as the city's mayor.

Lee said he will appear before prosecutors on Friday.

The investigation is separate from the investigation into the Daejang-dong development project also in Seongnam during Lee's time as the city mayor.

Lee is accused of giving special treatment to private developers for the project back in 2015, abusing his authority in designing and approving the project.

Chung Ba-ul, the CEO of Asia Developer, the private developer that led the Baekhyeon-dong project, said in court that he was implied that a portion of the 20 billion won ($15.17 million) he gave as a bribe to a lobbyist would go to Lee.

Lee accused the government of targeting him to divert attention from its crisis to him.

He said Thursday he remains steadfast and is willing to cooperate with the investigation.

Apart from the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong cases, Lee is implicated in an ongoing trial involving a clothing company indicted on a charge of illegally sending $8 million to North Korea to facilitate Lee's invitation to Pyongyang.

He is also under investigation in a bribery case in which he is indicted for receiving bribes from major corporations, including Naver and Doosan, that were laundered through the city's public soccer team. The prosecution alleges that bribes were given in a quid-pro-quo arrangement.

Also on Thursday, Lee's close aide, Bae So-hyeon, was given a 10-month prison sentence and 160 hours of compulsory community service for violation of election laws and spreading false information. Bae's sentencing, however, comes with a two-year probation.

Bae worked for Lee when Lee was Seongam's mayor and the governor of Gyeonggi. Her role, previously non-existent, was focused on overseas promotion and attending to visiting foreign dignitaries.

A Gyeonggi government official said Bae was a de facto personal assistant to Lee's wife, Kim Hye-gyeong.

This was revealed when it came to light that Bae had been using a government credit card to order food, including sushi, to Lee's residence.

Bae was convicted for misappropriating government funds for a lunch event hosted by Kim Hye-gyeong for three spouses of DP lawmakers and three assistants in 2021.

The luncheon took place during Lee Jae-myung's bid to become the party's presidential candidate for the 2022 presidential election while he was still serving as Gyeonggi governor.

Bae was indicted on a number of charges, including election law violation and breach of trust.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]