Arrest warrant hearing for DP leader Lee to be held Tuesday

An arrest warrant hearing for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will be held Tuesday, judicial officials said Friday, following the National Assembly’s passage of his arrest motion earlier this week.

The hearing, set to begin at 10 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court, will be presided over by Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, they said.

If the hearing proceeds as scheduled, the court’s decision on whether to detain Lee will likely be made late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, they said, though the schedule can be changed due to a possible deterioration in Lee’s health caused by his prolonged hunger strike.

The arrest motion presented by the prosecution accusing the chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of breach of trust, bribery and other charges related to a development scandal, and a North Korean remittance case was approved by parliament in a 149-136 vote Thursday.

The prosecution accuses Lee of committing breach of trust worth 20 billion won (US$15.06 million) by giving special treatment to a private developer in the Baekhyeon-dong district apartment project in the city of Seongnam, south of Seoul, between 2014 and 2015, when he was serving as the city’s mayor.

Lee is also suspected of asking Ssangbangwool Group, an underwear maker, to illegally transfer $8 million to North Korea between 2019 and 2020, when he was serving as Gyeonggi Province governor, through his deputy to facilitate his visit to the North and push for a joint smart farm project between his province and Pyongyang.