The prosecution judged that Lee Jae-myeong,안전놀이터 the head of the Democratic Party of Korea, requested a ‘specific contribution’ of sponsoring Seongnam FC as a condition of selling the city property to Naver while he was mayor of Seongnam.
The prosecution, who investigated the Seongnam FC suspicion, reported that a ‘transaction’ was established between Naver, where there were ‘complaints’ such as land and various permits, and Lee, who had to save Seongnam FC, a ‘political achievement’, with donations as a link. A third party bribery charge was applied.
It is said that CEO Lee provided convenience to publicize his political achievements, even though he knew that it was illegal to receive donations from companies in exchange for permission.
Naver needed land, Lee Jae-myung needed recordsAccording to the arrest warrant obtained by Yonhap News on the 17th, when Naver showed an intention to purchase the land in Seongnam in August 2014, CEO Lee told Naver CEO Kim Sang-heon at the time, “We have no intention of selling the site in a hurry, and unlike other companies, Naver He said, “I want Naver’s concrete contribution plan.”
At the time, Naver was experiencing difficulties in operating its own software education institute, not receiving approval from the Ministry of Education and costing 6 to 10 billion won a year. Establishing a formal educational institution (graduate school) emerged as an alternative, but it required a separate school building and land.
Around that time, Seongnam FC faced a crisis of bankruptcy within 8 months of its founding. Prosecutors believe that CEO Lee, who was aiming for re-election as mayor of Seongnam, took over Seongnam Ilhwa forcibly to make a ‘political achievement’ ahead of the 2014 local elections, but was in crisis because he could not raise operating funds.
Prosecutors found that in October of that year, through an official from Seongnam City, CEO Lee conveyed his intention to Naver to the effect that “in order for Naver to purchase the site first, Seongnam FC needs to sponsor 5 billion won.”
Naver expressed its intention to buy the Jeongja-dong site, and Jeong Jin-sang, former head of the Political Coordination Office at the CEO’s office (then Seongnam City’s policy secretary), who was close to Lee, started discussions in earnest.
The prosecution said, “Mayor Lee Jae-myung’s biggest concern is Seongnam FC’s financial problem, and there is still a shortage of 5 billion won.”
The two sides finally agreed on the amount of donations to be 4 billion won. Afterwards, the prosecution believes that in order to hide the fact that the source of the donation was Naver, he decided to go through ‘Salim of Hope’ run by former lawmaker Je Yoon-kyung, another close aide to Lee.
Naver’s complaints did not stop there. Instead of giving donations, they received the promise of Seongnam City by requesting various permits related to the construction of new buildings, designation of neighborhood living facilities in new buildings, and an increase in the maximum floor area ratio. The donation was paid in installments of 1 billion won each time Naver’s complaints were realized one by one from 2015 to 2016.
Prosecutors explained that Seongnam City, which was instructed to cooperate by CEO Lee and former chief Jeong, actively helped Naver. When Naver wanted to change the entrance/exit road to Suseo Expressway in Bundang, Seongnam City suggested that “we need to secure the approval of the surroundings,” and Naver mobilized private groups related to nearby elementary and middle schools to match this “coaching” ·He cited a petition that said, ‘We need to change the entrance and exit’ as a representative example.
Doosan E&C Lobby with Jaemyung Lee through Minseok AhnThe warrant bill also detailed the lobbying methods of companies such as Doosan to obtain various licenses from ‘Lee Jae-myung Seongnam City’.
In 2013, Doosan E&C, which wanted to change the use of the Jeongja-dong Hospital site in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, to commercial land, lobbied by actively utilizing its personal connections at Chung-Ang University, which is run by Doosan Group and Lee’s alma mater.
While approaching Representative Lee’s teacher, Professor of Law at Chung-Ang University, he also asked Rep. Min-Seok Ahn, a former professor at Chung-Ang University and active in the Democratic Party with Representative Lee, to meet with Representative Lee.
In the end, at a breakfast meeting arranged by Rep. Ahn in August 2013, Doosan E&C directly asked CEO Lee to change the use, and CEO Lee responded positively and said, “Discuss with Jinsang Jeong.”
Prosecutors believe that Lee pushed through the act of receiving Seongnam FC sponsorship money in exchange for permission and permission even though he knew it was illegal.
Doosan E&C discussed sponsoring Seongnam FC, which was suffering from financial difficulties, in exchange for changing the use of the Jeongja-dong hospital site to commercial land. .
In November 2014, employees reported to CEO Lee and former manager Jeong that “Seongnam FC is a for-profit corporation, so donations in the form of cash are not allowed, and there is no legal means to secure cash in conjunction with a change in use.” .
However, CEO Lee directly wrote in the report, “I want to review and report on a plan to recover some of the profits from the change of use,” and ordered Doosan E&C to receive compensation for the change of use.
In the warrant request form, CEO Lee and former chief Jeong were particularly concerned about not causing noise surrounding permission and permission.
In April 2015, ahead of the agreement ceremony for the change of use, when the prosecution investigated allegations of bribery by the president of Chung-Ang University and others, CEO Lee and others ordered the department in charge of the project to postpone the change of use of the site to the second half of the year.
In July 2015, after the suspicions subsided, an agreement was signed that included the change of use of the hospital site and the payment of 5 billion won in installments to Seongnam FC.
“Establishment of Seongnam FC without securing finances… Utilization of political campaign tools”Prosecutors determined that Lee used Seongnam FC as a tool for his achievements and political campaign for the re-election of Seongnam Mayor.
During his first term as mayor of Seongnam (2010-2014), CEO Lee disbanded 12 out of 15 sports teams for office workers in Seongnam City due to financial difficulties.
Prosecutors pointed out that CEO Lee made this decision while observing the trend of local soccer fans who said at the time, ‘If I do not take over Seongnam Ilhwa, I will push for the resignation of the market’.
In Seongnam FC, which was founded without operating funds, Lee’s supporters and family members who were active in the election camp were appointed as directors and auditors, and the existing Seongnam Ilhwa employees were kicked out. After selecting several of his supporters and placing them in key positions, Lee entrusted them with reporting on pending issues such as funding and corporate sponsorship.
From 2014 to 2018, they received over 1.4 billion won in salary and incentives.
Prosecutors also believed that Seongnam FC employees were mobilized for the electoral college or donation fundraising in the election in which Lee ran.