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| The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Park Hong-geun speaks at a general meeting of the party's lawmakers at the National Assembly in western Seoul, Jan. 17. Yonhap |
The floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) threatened Tuesday to pursue an independent counsel investigation of first lady Kim Keon Hee, accusing the prosecution of conducting a politically motivated probe against party leader Lee Jae-myung.
Rep. Park Hong-geun made the remark a day after Lee was asked to appear for questioning, claiming the prosecution is fabricating charges against Lee while turning a blind eye to allegations of stock price manipulation involving the first lady.
On Monday, prosecutors asked Lee to appear for questioning on Jan. 27 as part of an investigation into corruption allegations involving a high-profile property development project. The summons came less than a week after Lee underwent the first round of questioning in a separate bribery case.
Lee has flatly denied all allegations against him.
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| Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee signs a guestbook during a visit to the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 16. Yonhap |
"We can no longer accept the situation where the prosecution focuses on protecting first lady Kim and attacking the opposition party," Park said. "The Democratic Party will push for a special counsel probe into Kim Keon Hee."
The DPK has been calling for an independent counsel probe into Kim, accusing her of being one of the influential market players that participated in manipulating the stock price of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea, for about three years from December 2009.
Park also slammed Yoon for saying Iran is the "enemy and biggest threat" of the United Arab Emirates during his meeting with Korean troops in the UAE earlier this week.
"It was an extremely dangerous remark," Park said, noting Yoon makes a diplomatic mistake whenever he goes on an overseas trip. (Yonhap)
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