Prosecutors’ questioning of DP head cancelled due to scheduling dispute

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will not appear for scheduled questioning next week regarding his alleged involvement in illicit money transfers to North Korea due to a scheduling conflict, prosecutors said Friday.

Lee, who has been staging a hunger sit-in against the government since Thursday, previously stated his intention to appear at the prosecutors’ office on Monday, as requested by the prosecution, with the condition that the questioning is limited to two hours in the morning.

But Lee’s attorney notified the Suwon District Prosecutors Office in the afternoon that it would be difficult for Lee to appear on Monday, the office told reporters in a text message, urging the opposition leader to cooperate with the prosecution’s investigation.

Pundits anticipate prosecutors may issue another summons in the third week of September, when there are no plenary sessions at the National Assembly.

So far, Lee has appeared for prosecution questioning four times, with the last questioning on Aug. 17, over a series of corruption allegations that he claims were fabricated.

The Suwon prosecution is planning to question him about allegations that Ssangbangwool Group, an underwear manufacturer, unlawfully remitted US$8 million to North Korea between January 2019 and January 2020 on behalf of Gyeonggi Province when Lee was governor.

Prosecutors suspect that $3 million was intended to facilitate Lee’s planned visit to Pyongyang, while the remainder was meant for Gyeonggi’s smart farm support program in North Korea.

Lee launched the hunger sit-in in front of the main National Assembly building on Thursday, saying he will fight for the people against what he called the “incompetent and violent” government of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Lee also claimed his innocence, likening the prosecution’s repeated summons to “stalking.”