According to news reports, South Korea’s main opposition leader was indicted on Wednesday for alleged bribery in a plot using an underwear maker to channel funds to North Korea and organise a trip to Pyongyang while he was still serving as a governor.
When Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, was the Governor of Gyeonggi province his deputy had also been found guilty for taking bribes and money laundering through Ssangbangwool Group that sent $8 million to North Korea.
Ssangbangwool is a business group that started its activity as a bra producer but afterwards extended into other spheres.
There were no responses from Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office public relations office.
Lee denied allegations that he had knowledge about or participated in that scheme which ran between 2019 and 2020 with an aim of promoting business ties with North Korea and Lee visiting Pyongyang which would have raised his political profile as an emerging personality.
“Last year,” said Lee, “I ain’t so stupid; I considered their allegations ‘phantasmagoria,’ and the court repudiated the warrant application.”
He said after being charged on Thursday: “Our prosecutors are getting worse at creativity.”
In 2022, Lee became the Democratic Party presidential nominee but narrowly lost out to Yoon Suk Yeol who worked as prosecutor all his life. For the presidency scheduled for 2027, he is seen as one of the leading candidates by many people.
Currently he is separately tried for corruption charges relating to his tenure as Mayor of a city near Seoul.
Hyundai Group previously had almost total monopoly over key commercial ventures within this country until some government officials were brought down in disrepute over transferring money via it to Pyongyang during first inter-Korean summit held in 2000.
