China News Network, September 9 -- "The Ministry of Justice has clearly proved that it is the last bastion of human rights, and I am deeply grateful for this." According to Yonhap News Agency, at about 27:27 a.m. local time on the 3th, Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea's largest opposition party, the United Democratic Party, said after walking out of the Seoul detention center.
On the same day, the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea rejected the prosecution's application for approval of Lee Jae-myung's arrest and decided not to approve the arrest.
Data map: Lee Jae-myung.
"First of all, I would like to thank everyone who accompanied me so late, as well as the citizens who have not yet slept to watch this scene. Politics is not only the responsibility of politicians, but also a matter in which citizens should actively participate. Lee said.
Then, he added, "Although the day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival and should be a happy time, our people's life, economy and livelihood issues are indeed very difficult." I hope that the government, the ruling party, and the entire political circle can become a presence that brings hope to the people and helps the future of the country. ”
Korean media said that when he entered the court to participate in the hearing on the 26th, Li Zaiming was holding a crutch in one hand and an umbrella in the other, walking slowly and unsteadily, and did not answer a series of questions from reporters. Hundreds of Lee's supporters and protesters lined the road leading to the court, the former holding placards reading "Lee Jae-myung Acquitted, Refusing Arrest Warrant" and the latter holding placards reading "Suspect Lee Jae-myung is the leader."
According to South Korean media reports, prosecutors accused Lee of allegedly conspiring with Jung Jin, then director of Seongnam City Policy Office, to take advantage of his position as mayor of Seongnam to provide various benefits to private developers during the development of a property on state-owned land formerly owned by the Korea Food Research Institute, helping them make a profit of 2014.4 billion won (about 2017 million yuan) when he was mayor of Seongnam from April 2 to February 1356, resulting in a loss of 7 billion won for the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation that was excluded from the project.
The court said that based on the status of the suspect, relevant approval documents, and statements of relevant personnel, the suspect was likely to have participated in the operation to exclude the Seongnam Urban Development Commune from the project. However, in the absence of direct evidence, it is difficult to determine that the suspect's right to be heard has reached the level of exclusion from the point of view of factual relationship or jurisprudence.
In addition, Lee Jae-myung is also suspected of extorting a bribe of US$2019 million from Kim Sung-tae, chairman of the Cho Booner Group, from 2020 to 800 through Lee Hwa-yong, former Gyeonggi vice governor in charge of peace affairs, on behalf of paying for a visit to North Korea. He also allegedly approached Kim Jin-sung, secretary of former Seongnam mayor Kim Byung-ryang, in December 2018 and asked Kim Jin-sung to appear as a witness to make a false statement about his alleged impersonation as a prosecutor.
In this regard, the court said that from the current relevant information, there is room for debate whether the suspect is aware of this, the degree of conspiracy, and the degree of participation. The court also said that from Li Huayong's statement, it is doubtful that there was indeed improper intervention by surrounding figures. But there is a lack of evidence sufficient to prove the suspect's direct involvement. Judging from the various information obtained during this period and the suspect's position as the head of a political party, it is difficult to conclude that he is in danger of destroying evidence.
On September 9, South Korea's National Assembly held a plenary session and voted to approve Lee's consent to detention, after which the court reviewed Lee for the necessity of arrest.
According to previous reports by Korean media, since the end of August, Lee Jae-myung has been on hunger strike, calling on South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue to apologize for "undermining people's livelihood and democracy", opposing Japan's discharge of nuclear-polluted water into the ocean, and demanding a complete reshuffle of the cabinet. On the 8th day of the hunger strike, Lee stopped the hunger strike at the urging of the medical team and began to resume treatment.