With private contractors implicated in the Daejang-dong development corruption scandal receiving guilty verdicts in the first trial, on the 1st the ruling party said, "The court has officially confirmed that President Lee Jae-myung is not involved," while the opposition party argued, "The trial of President Lee, the final decision-maker on the Daejang-dong development, must resume."
The Democratic Party of Korea special committee on responding to fabricated indictments by political prosecutors said at a National Assembly press conference that day, "President Lee is currently indicted on charges of breach of duty (related to Daejang-dong), but this ruling has revealed that the indictment was clearly a politically fabricated scheme."
The special committee said, "Then-Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung firmly rejected the private contractors' so-called 'five major demands,' and former Seongnam Development Corporation planning chief Yoo Dong-gyu also acknowledged this in court," adding, "Nevertheless, political prosecutors under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration forcibly indicted President Lee, who was then the Democratic Party leader."
The special committee demanded, "The prosecution should immediately withdraw the indictment against President Lee even now," and "Sincerely apologize before the public and make a deep bow of repentance for framing an individual through a politically tailored indictment to suit the administration's taste."
By contrast, People Power Party chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon said in a commentary that day, "The court made clear that the breach-of-duty crimes by the key figures in the Daejang-dong corruption were carried out 'under the decision of Seongnam City's leadership' and constituted a 'corruption crime born of collusion,'" adding, "The trial of President Lee Jae-myung, the 'final decision-maker on Daejang-dong,' must resume immediately."
He continued, "This is not a simple private-sector corruption case; the court clearly recognized it as a structural power-type corruption created under the 'Mayor Lee Jae-myung system,'" adding, "Yoo Dong-gyu, Kim Man-bae, Nam Wook, Jung Min-yong, and Jung Young-hak have all been taken into custody. But only President Lee, the 'final decision-maker,' has not yet stood in court."
He also said, "The judiciary has exposed the structure of corruption, yet the administration is trying to abolish the law to cover up that structure," adding, "President Lee should no longer hide behind a political shield and should face judicial judgment fairly and squarely."
The Daejang-dong case involves allegations that during President Lee's tenure as Seongnam mayor, private contractors including Kim Man-bae gained an illicit profit of 489.5 billion won, while Seongnam Development Corporation suffered a loss of 488.95 billion won during the Daejang-dong development process. Legally, charges including breach of duty were applied. Kim and others were sentenced in the first trial to prison terms of 4 to 8 years and were all taken into custody in court. President Lee was also indicted in connection with this case and was undergoing the first trial, but the trial has been suspended since the last presidential election.