Prosecution probe further corners People's Party over evidence fixing scandal

SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- The liberal opposition People's Party saw its crisis worsen Sunday after the prosecution filed for an arrest warrant for its official and key campaigner of its standard-bearer in the latest presidential election over an evidence fixing scandal.

The prosecutors filed a request for a warrant to arrest Lee Joon-seo, a former member of the party's supreme council and a campaign manager for former party leader and presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo.

The 39-year-old is suspected of ordering the fabrication of evidence against President Moon Jae-in's son, Joon-yong, that sought to back up the party's long-standing allegation that Moon illicitly helped his son land a full-time job at a public agency.

Another party member, Lee Yoo-mi, has admitted to fabricating such evidence by making her brother pose as a close acquaintance of the junior Moon when he did not know him at all.

Lee is already in custody, while the prosecution also filed for her brother's arrest Sunday.

The request for the arrest of Lee Joon-seo dealt another severe blow to the party, which, following its own investigation, had concluded no other party member, including Lee, had knowledge of the evidence being fake, apparently acquitting its leadership and all other party members.

The ruling Democratic Party quickly responded with questions over the authenticity and objectivity of the opposition's own investigation.

"The prosecution's request for the arrest of Lee Joon-seo directly contradicts what the People's Party has claimed, and therefore questions over the outcome of its self-initiated investigation cannot but increase," party spokeswoman, Rep. Baek Hye-ryun, said in a released statement.

The People's Party has apologized to the president and his son for raising false allegations based on fabricated evidence but has been boycotting parliamentary proceedings since last week after the chief of the ruling party raised questions over the authenticity of its own investigation into the scandal.
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