Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly, Monday. Yonhap

By Lee Hyo-jin

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has come under mounting pressure as corruption investigations surrounding him are intensifying following the arrests of his close aides.

With the probe zeroing in on Lee, ruling party lawmakers are pressuring him to step down, while some DPK lawmakers are demanding official explanations from the party leader.

"It has become highly possible that the black money earned from the Daejang-dong development scandal flowed into the hands of two people and was used in Lee's election campaigns for Seongnam mayor, primary and presidential elections," Chung Jin-suk, incumbent chief of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), said Monday.

He urged Lee to make a "decision" as the party leader to unshackle the DPK lawmakers who have so far been unified in their efforts to protect their leader.

The "two people" Chung was referring to are Lee's confidants ― his vice chief of staff Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong, deputy head of the DPK's Institute for Democracy think tank. Both were recently arrested over bribery allegations in connection to the high-profile development project in Seongnam's Daejang-dong, which took place during Lee's time as city mayor.

Jeong is suspected of receiving about 140 million won of bribes between 2013 and 2020 from real estate developers for business favors related to the project, while Kim is speculated to have received over 840 million won in profits from the land development scheme between April and August in 2021.

The prosecutors are expected to keep looking for any suspicious financial connections to Lee.