(2nd LD) Prosecutors seek warrant for opposition party member over false allegations against Moon's son
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead and paras 2, 5-6 with updates on writ request for Lee and other details; TRIMS)
SEOUL, June 28 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors on Wednesday sought a court warrant to arrest a member of a minor opposition party for making up false allegations against President Moon Jae-in's son.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office requested a writ for Lee You-mi, a member of the People's Party, on charges of violating the election law and spreading false information.
During the election campaign, the People's Party claimed that his son Moon Joon-yong was unfairly hired at the Korea Employment Information Service in late 2006 when Moon was a senior presidential secretary.
The party Monday apologized and said Lee manipulated materials to cook up the false allegation. Lee was taken into custody later that day. A former senior party official named Lee Jun-seo was banned from overseas travel on Tuesday on suspicions that he was behind the scheme.
Earlier on Wednesday, the prosecution investigators raided the offices and homes of the two in search of evidence. They said the raid was to find out whether there was any involvement from the People's Party.
The prosecution said they are set to summon Lee Jun-seo for questioning this week.
Lee You-mi reportedly confessed to fabricating an anonymous tip-off about Moon's hiring and stated she didn't act alone.
Lee Jun-seo, a former member of the party's decision-making body, is known to have relayed her fabricated tip-off to the party.
Moon's ruling Democratic Party and the People's Party have sued each other over the allegations.
Lee You-mi (C) is taken into a detention center on June 27, 2017, after she was arrested by the prosecution over allegations that she fabricated a story about an illicit hiring of President Moon Jae-in's son by a public agency. (Yonhap)
The ruling party lambasted the People's Party, stressing the fake allegations against Moon's son constitute a "grave" violation of the election law and run counter to democratic principles.
"That this incident has taken place in the People's Party, which is pursuing 'new politics,' is shocking," Choo Mi-ae, the ruling party leader, said during a meeting with party members, urging a thorough prosecutorial probe into the case.
Park Joo-sun, the interim leader of the People's Party, struggled to cope with mounting criticism, reiterating that the suspect apparently manipulated the allegation by herself with no directive from party seniors.
Some members of the embattled party called for an independent counsel probe, which the ruling party discounted as an attempt to water down the case.
elly@yna.co.kr
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