Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho denied Monday that President Lee Jae Myung had any half within the prosecution’s latest choice to not attraction a high-profile growth corruption case stemming from his time as mayor of Seongnam.
Jung made the comment as he arrived for work on the justice ministry in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, as controversy has flared up over the prosecution’s failure to attraction the case by final Friday’s deadline, which critics allege was a results of authorities interference.
“What does this case should do with President Lee?” he mentioned in response to a associated query from a reporter. “President Lee was individually indicted and standing trial earlier than it was suspended.”
The event corruption case facilities on allegations {that a} small variety of unheard-of non-public asset administration firms, together with Hwacheon Daeyu, have been allowed to reap astronomical funding income from an actual property growth challenge in Seongnam’s Daejang-dong district in 2015, when Lee was town’s mayor.
Lee stood trial on fees of inflicting losses to Seongnam Improvement Corp., which was answerable for the challenge, earlier than a courtroom indefinitely postponed his trial following his presidential election victory in June.
In a separate trial, nevertheless, a district courtroom sentenced Yoo Dong-gyu, former appearing president of Seongnam Improvement Corp., and Kim Man-bae, a serious shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, to eight-year jail phrases every on fees, together with breach of obligation, on Oct. 31.
Three different suspects have been sentenced to jail phrases starting from 4 to 6 years.
Jung instructed reporters he didn’t give pointers relating to a possible attraction, although he did convey his opinion to the Supreme Prosecutors Workplace to “determine fastidiously after contemplating numerous circumstances.”
“Sometimes, necessary instances are reported to the justice ministry by means of the prosecution, and after I was briefed on the sentencing outcomes, I initially instructed them to determine fastidiously for themselves whether or not to attraction,” Jung mentioned.
“After that, after I was briefed a second time by the Supreme Prosecutors Workplace, I made a decision there wouldn’t be a authorized drawback as there was a sentence that was more durable than what had been demanded by the prosecution.”
Jung was referring to the case of Yoo, for whom prosecutors had demanded a seven-year jail time period.
“I made up my mind there have been no issues even with out an attraction,” he mentioned. “In precept, I consider it was a profitable investigation and a profitable trial.”
In handing down the sentences, the district courtroom additionally acquitted the suspects of fees of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Particular Financial Crimes, which carries a harsher sentence of as much as life imprisonment.
Jung didn’t touch upon the acquittal portion of the ruling.
