Lees Camp Hurt by Kim Jae-jeong Again
Lee Myung-bak, Grand National Party candidate and former Seoul mayor, once again was troubled on July 23 by problems connected to the withdrawal of a lawsuit filed by Kim Jae-jeong, his brother-in-law.
Kim Yong-cheol, a lawyer and Kim Jae-jeongs legal counsel, called the pressroom of the Seoul District Prosecutors Office at 10:20 a.m. on July 23, and said that he would hold a press conference at 11:00 a.m. The press conference was to announce that Kim would drop legal action against former GNP leader Park Geun-hyes close aides concerning the controversy over the ownership of real estate in Dogok-dong, Seoul.
The unexpected decision made by Kim, who didnt budge even when Lees camp urged him to discontinue the suit on July 11, got Lees camp bustling. There were internal debates on whether the suit should be withdrawn or not.
However, after the promised time of the press conference, Kims lawyer called the pressroom again and said that the conference would be postponed to the afternoon. Later on, he said that there would be no announcement today, reversing his former decision.
What really happened? Members of Lees camp elaborated the following. In the afternoon of July 22, an aide to Lee suggested Kim drop the suit again. Kim allegedly answered that although he is not willing to withdraw, he has no choice if that is Lees intent. So on July 23, he decided to discontinue the suit. However, Kim later found out that the aide persuaded him without any orders from Lee and reversed his decision.
Some say that camp members who oppose the withdrawal of the suit persuaded him to cancel the press conference. Some are guessing that Kim and Lees camp failed to reach an agreement on the conditions for the withdrawal. Although the reason is unknown yet, Lees camp rushed to come up with countermeasures, worrying that the incident would exacerbate the controversy over the real ownership of the landsite.
Lees camp is planning to disclose Kims specified transaction details related to the landsite to prove that Lee has nothing to do with the property on July 24. Lee Sang-eun, Lees older brother, who is currently in Japan, said due to health problems he would not to show up if summoned. However, he decided to submit a letter of confirmation to the Prosecutors Office, which would allow them to track his financial accounts.
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