Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), has decided to appear at a prosecutors' office for questioning at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 10 in connection with a corruption investigation surrounding the Seongnam FC, a football club, a party spokesperson said on Jan. 6.
"Chairman Lee will appear at the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday," DP spokesman Rep. An Ho-young said in a press briefing.
Spokesman Ahn added, "CEO Lee has already announced that he will attend the investigation confidently as he said last month."
Asked if he would attend publicly, he replied, "CEO Lee said he would proudly attend and state his position. We have to wait and see who he will go with and what he will do."
Earlier, the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating the "Seongnam FC third-party bribery scandal," notified Chairman Lee on Dec. 21, 2022 to attend the investigation on Dec. 28, but Lee refused to comply with the notification while visiting Gwangju.
The case is that Lee attracted more than 16 billion won in donations from companies between 2016 and 2018 when he was the owner of Seongnam FC while serving as Seongnam Mayor, and these companies received convenience such as building permits or change of land use. Currently, Chairman Lee is a suspect suspected of giving bribes to a third party in this case.
It will mark the first time Lee will appear for questioning since he was elected the biggest opposition party leader in August.
Lee has cried foul against the probe, claiming it is a politically motivated attempt to remove him and suppress the main opposition.
