Opposition leader cries foul against prosecution summons

SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung protested strongly Friday after prosecutors asked him to appear for questioning over bribery allegations surrounding corporate donations to a football club.

Lee was asked to come to the Suwon District Prosecutors Office next week over allegations the city government of Seongnam attracted some 16 billion won (US$12 million) in corporate donations to its municipal football club in return for administrative favors.

Lee, who was elected as leader of the Democratic Party (DP) this year, served as the mayor of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, when the donations to Seongnam FC were made in the mid-2010s.

The DP leader denounced the probe as politically motivated and renewed his pledge to fight against it.

"I will confidently confront and prevail at the forefront of the shameless probe aimed at destroying the main opposition," Lee said at the party's Supreme Council meeting in the northeastern city of Chuncheon.

Claiming the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is bent on getting rid of him, Lee accused the government of neglecting state affairs and instead focusing on political strife.

"At a grave time when pouring every capacity the state has into tackling a crisis is insufficient, the Yoon Suk Yeol regime is again blatantly destroying the main opposition," Lee said.

He also took a swipe at the president, claiming his family should be the one questioned by the prosecution.

"Rather than asking Lee Jae-myung, whose allegations are unclear, when he will attend the hearing, I hope you ask the president's family, whose criminal charges are evident, when the summons will arrive."

Lee's remarks were seen as hinting at boycotting the questioning scheduled for Wednesday.

mlee@yna.co.kr
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