Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung, center, speaks during the party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Lee's vice chief of staff indicted on bribery charges

By Nam Hyun-woo

Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has been out of the public eye for a while, rarely setting up meetings, luncheons or dinners with fellow lawmakers. The main opposition party leader even skipped the press conference for the 100th day of his leadership, a tradition that his predecessors had observed to celebrate the milestone.
Those who are familiar with Lee say his keeping a low profile could be related to the prosecution's ongoing investigation into corruption cases, including a land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, during his time as mayor of the city.

On Friday, the prosecution indicted Jeong Jin-sang, Lee's vice chief of staff, on charges of having received bribes as well as his involvement in other corruption cases.

After Jeong's indictment, the prosecution will likely aim its crosshairs at Lee to find out whether he was involved in the land development scandal or not. In the search warrant on Jeong, the prosecution described his relationship with Lee as "a political community."

Before Jeong, Kim Yong, the deputy head of the DPK's Institute for Democracy think tank, was indicted last month on charges of having taken hundreds of millions of won in illegal political funds from property developers. During the process of investigating Kim, the prosecution's investigators staged skirmishes with DPK members who tried to block them from entering the DPK's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul.

Jeong Jin-sang, center, vice chief of staff to Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung, answers reporters' questions before his arrest warrant review at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, Seoul, Nov. 18. Korea Times photo by Ha Sang-yun

The ongoing investigation and the indictment of his confidants have left Lee quiet. He has been careful not to speak about sensitive political issues or the investigations and has tried not to stand out.