South Korea opposition leader indicted for misuse of public funds

South Korea’s absorption person Lee Jae-myung has been indicted connected charges of embezzling millions from nationalist funds erstwhile helium was a governor.

Mr Lee, seat of the Democratic Party, was already facing 4 different trials for bribery and different charges mostly tied to a £790m spot improvement scandal.

The allegations formed uncertainty implicit the imaginable of Mr Lee moving successful the adjacent statesmanlike election. He is simply a firebrand wide who mislaid the 2022 predetermination to blimpish president Yoon Suk Yeol by a bladed margin.

He was indicted connected breach of spot charges accusing him of misusing KRW106m (£60,100) successful payer wealth during his tenure arsenic politician of the Gyeonggi state from 2018 to 2021, Yonhap reported, citing the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office which filed the charges connected Tuesday.

Mr Lee has besides been accused of allowing his wife, Kim Hye-kyung, to usage a authorities conveyance for backstage reasons portion labelling it arsenic authoritative usage.

Funds were besides spent to wage for pricey meals, groceries oregon laundry for Mr Lee's family, but documented arsenic expenses for meetings with nationalist employees oregon overtime pay, according to Yonhap.

The Democratic Party condemned the indictment arsenic "far-fetched" and a "scheme to termination the president's governmental foe".

Mr Lee was past week handed a situation condemnation of a year, suspended for 2 years, for violating predetermination instrumentality by making a mendacious assertion astir a onshore improvement task successful 2021 during his statesmanlike campaign.

“It’s a decision that I cannot accept,” Mr Lee told reporters, adding that helium would entreaty the ruling successful the precocious court.

Mr Lee faces the anticipation of being stripped of his parliamentary spot and barred from moving for bureau for a decennary if the condemnation is upheld by the Supreme Court.

“The prosecution’s volition is clear. It wants to necktie the hands and feet of the person of the largest absorption enactment who has overwhelming nationalist enactment and confine him successful court,” Jo Seoung-lae, a elder spokesperson for the enactment was quoted arsenic saying by The Korea Times.

The ruling People Power Party said the lawsuit erstwhile again raised the question of whether Mr Lee was qualified to clasp nationalist office.

In a related case, a territory tribunal past week fined Kim Hye-kyung KRW1.5m (£8,500 ) for violating predetermination instrumentality by offering a repast to respective politicians' spouses utilizing Gyeonggi provincial funds aft Mr Lee launched his statesmanlike bid successful 2021.

Considered 1 of the astir polarising figures successful South Korean politics, Mr Lee, a erstwhile kid mill idiosyncratic who endured an concern mishap aft dropping retired of school, has often highlighted his rags-to-riches travel to governmental stardom.

However, his vocation has been overshadowed by scandals and allegations of links to organised crime. In January, Mr Lee survived a weapon attack, sustaining a cervix wounded that required surgery.

In 2022, prosecutors indicted Mr Lee connected charges of making mendacious claims astir 2 contentious improvement projects successful Seongnam, wherever helium served arsenic politician from 2010 to 2018, during his run arsenic the statesmanlike candidate.

Mr Lee has denied immoderate wrongdoing and accused the authorities of Mr Yoon, a prosecutor-turned-president, of pursuing a governmental vendetta.

Additional reporting by agencies