President Lee Jae-myung, currently on a state visit to the Philippines, sharply criticized prosecutors on the 4th, stating that "using the investigative and indictment powers entrusted by the people for justice to fabricate evidence and manufacture cases in order to kill, rob, and imprison someone is worse than robbery, kidnapping, or murder committed by ordinary criminals."
President Lee made these remarks on X (formerly Twitter), citing media reports about recorded conversations from prison visits with former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Sung-tae. The cited article reported that Kim told a close associate that "(Ssangbangwool) never gave money to Lee Jae-myung" and that "Lee Jae-myung got entangled in absurd allegations."
The report was based on documents obtained from the Ministry of Justice's special inspection team, totaling approximately 1,600 pages. According to the recordings, during a March 10, 2023 visit at Suwon Detention Center, Kim told an associate: "I genuinely want to say I gave money to Lee Jae-myung if I actually did. I'm not lying. I'm furious." He added, "The prosecutors' tactics are all the same. Maybe it's because of their profession. They're not honest."
Attention is now on whether the group advocating for dismissal of charges against President Lee—formed by over 100 Democratic Party lawmakers—will gain momentum in its demand for a parliamentary investigation into alleged prosecutorial fabrication. The group argues that "the politically motivated prosecution under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's fabricated indictment against President Lee must be corrected."
Meanwhile, prosecutors have appealed after a first-instance court dismissed charges in the so-called North Korea remittance case, which alleged President Lee received third-party bribes through illegal transfers to North Korea. The court ruled the case constituted "double jeopardy." The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office recently filed an appeal, arguing the court "misinterpreted the law" in the trial of former Chairman Kim, who was indicted on bribery charges.