Gyeonggi Governor Lee at risk of losing office
Cheong Wa Dae calls probe political act; prosecutors slam interference
The Suwon High Court fined Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung 3 million won ($2,500), Friday, for making a “false claim” in his election campaign last year.
This ruling put the ruling party politician, who is said to be a future presidential contender, at risk of losing his governorship.
Unlike the lower court ruling in May that exonerated Lee on all charges, the high court found him guilty of making a false claim about his brother’s forced hospitalization during a televised debate in last year’s local elections.
Based on the election law, elected politicians in Korea are stripped of their position when receiving a sentence higher than a 1 million won fine for violation of the laws on election and political funds. Lee will have to leave the Gyeonggi governor post if the Supreme Court later upholds the 3 million won fine decision.
Prosecutors indicted Lee, 54, last year on four separate charges — one for abuse of power as the mayor of Seongnam to have his older brother committed in 2012 and three of giving false claims about this and two other incidents during his governor election campaign last year.
According to the prosecution, Lee leveraged his mayoral authority over public health officials to prepare medical documents the forcible committing of his brother to a mental facility. A political calculation was suspected behind the move as Lee’s brother Lee Jae-sun, who died of lung cancer in 2017, was a conservative who vehemently attacked Lee in the press.
Both the lower and high courts ruled the former mayor did not abuse his power but followed the legal process for public interest according to the relevant law, as Lee Jae-sun’s use of verbal violence provided some legal grounds for hospitalization. The high court, however, ruled Lee’s denial of the forced hospitalization in the lead-up to the local elections last year counted as making a false claim to the public.
“(Regarding the forced hospitalization,) Lee claimed something different from the truth during a televised campaign debate, distorting fact and giving false information that could mislead voters about the incident,” the judge panel said.
Lee was charged with giving false claims on two other incidents he denied during the election campaign — one of him impersonating a prosecutor in a phone interview while he was a human rights lawyer, and the other of exaggerating the financial gains of a regional development project he undertook as Seongnam mayor. The court dismissed both, saying they did not amount to spreading false information.
The ruling is a blow to Governor Lee, a presidential hopeful whose name has been floated for the 2022 race. A teenage factory worker and human rights lawyer, Lee is known for implementing progressive welfare policies in Gyeonggi Province.
The ruling bloc and the prosecution have collided head-on over the latter’s investigation into various corruption allegations surrounding justice minister nominee Cho Kuk.
Cheong Wa Dae, Cabinet members and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticize the probe as being a “political act” to impede the government’s plan to reform the prosecution, while prosecutors slam such reactions for “interfering with an investigation” and “damaging the independence” of the organization.
The clash is only getting more severe with bellicose comments being exchanged, and is unlikely to be relieved if President Moon Jae-in pushes ahead with Cho’s appointment despite the allegations and the ongoing investigation.
A Cheong Wa Dae official expressed strong complaints about the prosecution’s investigation, including searches conducted at dozens of places involved in the allegations before Cho’s confirmation hearing at the National Assembly.
“Searching 20 to 30 locations, under the pretext of investigating Cho’s allegations, is the sort of method used in investigations into a rebellion conspiracy or a massive crackdown on a nationwide gang,” the official was quoted as saying in local media, Friday.
He said prosecutors are investigating intensively in order to prevent Cho from becoming justice minister and therefore stop him from fulfilling the President’s pledge to curb the powers of the prosecution.
“We can tell whether it is an ordinary investigation or being conducted for the prosecution to protect its organization,” the official said. “It is aimed at preventing the judiciary reform that is planned to reduce the absolute power of the prosecution.”
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon also called the ongoing investigation “inappropriate,” as the prosecution’s large-scale searches affected the Assembly’s confirmation hearing.
“The prosecution needs to tell only the truth,” Lee said in a National Assembly session on Thursday. “If prosecutors act with political intentions, it is beyond their domain.”
Incumbent Justice Minister Park Sang-ki also expressed discomfort over the prosecution not reporting its search plan to him in advance, saying the law states the justice minister can command the prosecutor general.
“For socially important cases, it is logical that the prosecution should make prior reports and the minister supervises the investigation,” Park said in the same Assembly session.
DPK floor leader Lee In-young also denounced the prosecution for “leaking” its findings to the media to corner Cho, saying it is “clearly bad political behavior.”
The prosecution openly protested such reactions from the ruling bloc, a rare move.
The protest came Thursday evening after a Cheong Wa Dae official commented on the alleged fabrication of a certificate for Cho’s daughter’s volunteer activity at an English education center of Dongyang University. Cho’s wife is a professor at the university, and the school president told media that he did not remember issuing any such award for Cho’s daughter.
The Cheong Wa Dae official said the certification was given to Cho’s daughter properly, adding they found a professor who recommended the certificate and the related allegations would be cleared in the confirmation hearing the next day.
Immediately after the comment, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office called for Cheong Wa Dae to stop intervening in its investigation.
The prosecutor’s office issued a statement attributed to an anonymous high-ranking prosecutor, who called the comment from the Cheong Wa Dae official “very inappropriate and can be seen as an intervention in the prosecution’s investigation and giving a guideline on it.”
The prosecution did not specify who authored the statement, but did not say no when asked if it was Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl.
It also refuted Minister Park’s remark, saying a search requires confidentiality so it is not reported to the ministry in principle.
The presidential office then immediately disputed the prosecution’s claim, saying it has not interfered with the investigation.