SEOUL: South Korea’s essential opposition chief Lee Jae-myung was indicted on Tuesday (Nov 19) on fees alleging he used greater than 100 million received (US$71,900) of public funds for private functions when he was a governor, Yonhap Information Company reported.
Lee, chair of the Democratic Occasion, is already facing four other trials together with for bribery and different fees largely tied to a US$1 billion property improvement scandal. His authorized battles have forged a cloud over his political destiny and will jeopardise his anticipated bid to contest the subsequent presidential race.
Prosecutors indicted Lee on breach of belief fees, accusing him of misusing some 106 million received in taxpayers’ cash throughout his 2018-21 stint as governor of Gyeonggi Province, simply south of Seoul, based on Yonhap.
The fees additionally embrace accusations that he allowed his spouse Kim Hye-kyung to make use of a authorities automobile for personal causes whereas labelling it as official utilization, Yonhap stated, citing the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Workplace, which filed the fees.
Funds had been additionally spent to pay for expensive meals, groceries or laundry for Lee’s household, however documented as bills for conferences with public workers or time beyond regulation pay, Yonhap stated.
Lee, who narrowly misplaced to President Yoon Suk Yeol within the 2022 election and is broadly anticipated to hunt to run once more in 2027, has not publicly commented on the most recent indictment, however has beforehand denied any wrongdoing and described different fees in opposition to the couple as “political retaliation”.
The Democratic Occasion on Tuesday condemned the indictment as “farfetched” and a “scheme to kill the president’s political foe.”
Calls to the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Workplace weren’t answered.
Breach of belief is punishable by 10 years in jail or a superb of as much as 30 million received.
Any ultimate jail sentence or a superb of 1 million received or extra would strip him of his seat in parliament and his proper to run in any elections for the subsequent 5 years.
The ruling Individuals Energy Occasion stated the case as soon as once more raised the query whether or not Lee was certified to carry public workplace.
In a associated case, a district court docket final week fined Kim Hye-kyung 1.5 million received for violating election law by providing a meal to a number of politicians’ spouses utilizing Gyeonggi provincial funds after Lee launched his presidential bid in 2021.
On Friday, Lee was convicted for violating election regulation and sentenced to a one-year jail time period suspended for 2 years. Lee stated that he would attraction.
