Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, did not appear as a witness in the Daejang-dong trial held on the 21st. As a result, the trial ended in just six minutes. The court noted that it would consider imposing fines if Lee does not appear for the next trial.
On the 21st, the 22nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (presided by Judge Cho Hyung-woo) held the first trial for Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, and four other private entities related to Daejang-dong, who were indicted on charges including breach of trust, but the session ended in six minutes.
On this day, the prosecution had scheduled to question Lee as a witness, but Lee did not appear in court.
Earlier, Lee's side submitted a notice of non-attendance to the court on the 14th. It is reported that Lee's side explained that it was difficult to appear due to commitments at the National Assembly and other ongoing trials.
The court stated, "We will not impose fines on the witness today, but if Lee does not appear for the trial on the 24th, we will consider a decision on fines." It also mentioned, "The notice of non-attendance submitted by Lee only included general content, without specifics on which schedules and trials overlapped."
According to the Criminal Procedure Act, a court may issue a summons if a witness does not appear at the trial without a valid reason. If the witness still does not appear after the summons is issued, the court may impose fines of up to 5 million won.
Meanwhile, Kim and others were indicted in 2021 for causing 489.5 billion won in damages to the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation through collusion with the City of Seongnam while Lee was the mayor. Lee and Jeong Jin-sang, former head of the Democratic Party's Policy Coordination Office, are being tried separately.