South Korea: DP candidate Lee's lawyer denies all charges in trial over misusing public funds

Suwon (South Korea), May 27 (IANS) South Korean Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's lawyer on Tuesday denied all charges related to allegations that Lee misused public funds for personal purposes during his term as the governor of Gyeonggi province.

The attorney's denial came during the third preparatory hearing of Lee's trial at the Suwon District Court, which the candidate did not attend.

Lee is accused of using 106.5 million won ($77,800) from his corporate card and provincial government funds to pay for food and other goods while serving as governor from 2018 to 2021.

"The defendant has not colluded in the crime, nor did he give orders (to do so)," Lee's lawyer said, claiming the indictment was "illegal" as the police had previously decided to not transfer the case to the prosecution.

Prosecutors have also indicted Lee's former chief of staff and a former public servant on the same charges, Yonhap news agency reported.

The court, which had initially planned to wrap up preparatory hearings on Tuesday, said it will hold an additional hearing on July 1 following a request from Lee's lawyer.

Lee has denounced the indictment, saying the prosecution filed charges without evidence.

Meanwhile, with the presidential election just a week away, DP candidate Lee Jae-myung kept a lead in opinion polls, while People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo saw his support steadily gain.

New Reform Party (NRP) candidate Lee Jun-seok, who has ruled out a candidacy merger with Kim, also maintained his double-digit support. From Wednesday, the release of new opinion polls will be prohibited under election law.

Several weekend surveys showed the DP's Lee leading his two rivals by more than the margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

In a Gallup Korea poll conducted from Saturday to Sunday commissioned by the JoongAng Ilbo, the DP's Lee secured 49 per cent support, ahead of Kim with 35 per cent and Lee Jun-seok with 11 per cent.

In hypothetical head-to-head matchups, the DP's Lee led Kim by 52 per cent to 42 per cent, and the NRP's Lee by 51 per cent to 40 per cent.

Another poll by Research & Research, commissioned by the Dong-A Ilbo and conducted on Saturday and Sunday, showed the DP's Lee with 45.9 per cent, followed by Kim with 34.4 per cent and the NRP's Lee with 11.3 per cent.

A separate poll by Next Research, conducted from Friday to Sunday for Maeil Business Newspaper and MBN, showed the DP's Lee at 44.9 per cent, Kim at 35.9 per cent, and the NRP's Lee at 9.6 per cent.

Each poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points at a 95 per cent confidence level.

--IANS

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