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| The main opposition Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-keun, center, speaks at a party meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul on March 3. Yonhap |
The floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Friday lashed out at the prosecution's decision to clear first lady Kim Keon Hee of graft charges, vowing to seek an independent counsel investigation of her.
Rep. Park Hong-keun made the remark a day after the prosecution decided not to indict Kim over graft suspicions that about a dozen conglomerates sponsored three art exhibitions organized by her former company, Covana Contents, allegedly because President Yoon Suk Yeol was serving in a high-level prosecution position at that time.
"The prosecution gave Kim indulgence after only a written investigation without a proper probe, just as they did in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case," Park said. "The Republic of Korea has become a heaven of privileges for prosecutors."
The stock manipulation case centers on allegations a former head of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea, conspired with influential market players, including Kim, to manipulate the company's stock prices between December 2009 and December 2012.
Earlier this month, a Seoul court acquitted financiers like Kim of involvement in the case and a key manipulator was also cleared of some of the charges against him due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Yoon's office said the ruling shows Kim is also innocent, but the opposition party claimed that she is still suspected of profiting from stock manipulation during a period within the statute of limitations, and vowed to seek a special prosecutor investigation into the case.
"They were busy making up nonexistent crimes involving the opposition leader, but they stalled for time for the past two years and a half," Park said of the prosecution.
Lee has been under investigation on charges of corruption and bribery in connection with development projects and donations to a municipal football club dating back to his time as the mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, from 2010-2018.
Park said the DP will swiftly push for a special counsel probe into the stock manipulation case.
The DP will also table a bill Friday to launch a special counsel probe into bribery allegations connected to a high-profile land development scandal, Park said.
The bill will call for an independent probe into the "5 billion club" allegations that prominent social figures were promised 5 billion won ($3.8 million) each from the asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management that reaped astronomical profits from the development project in Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Seoul.
The figures allegedly include former ruling party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, former prosecutor Park Young-soo and former Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam. (Yonhap)
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