Lee Jong-bae questioned as complainant Thursday; livelihood committee chief to face questioning Friday

Allegations include payment of special party dues, salary payments to spouse

Yong Hye-in, nominee for minister of Gender Equality and Family, arrives at an office set up in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, to prepare for her confirmation hearing, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
Yong Hye-in, nominee for minister of Gender Equality and Family, arrives at an office set up in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, to prepare for her confirmation hearing, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

Police have launched a full-scale investigation into a string of allegations surrounding Yong Hye-in, nominee for minister of Gender Equality and Family, beginning with an interview of the complainant.

The Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul said Thursday it would question Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul Metropolitan Council member of the People Power Party, as a complainant at 2 p.m. that day.

Lee filed a complaint against Yong with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Sept. 3, alleging irregularities in her use of political funds and salary payments to her spouse. The Yeongdeungpo Police Station received the case from the Seoul agency on Monday.

Lee said that of the 503.96 million won ($377,000) in political funds Yong used between 2020 and 2024, 293.6 million won was paid to the Basic Income Party as special party dues, and that Yong's spouse later received an average of nearly 3 million won a month in salary from the party.

He went on to say the funds appeared to have been used to provide financial benefits to Yong's spouse, which he said could constitute a violation of the Political Funds Act.

Lee also raised allegations regarding the use of state subsidies. Citing National Election Commission data, he said the Basic Income Policy Research Institute received subsidies from the party's central office. Between August 2022 and July 2023, it used 350,000 won a month to pay rent and management fees for the Mapo-gu office of an advocacy group for part-time workers. He urged police to investigate whether this amounted to misuse of state subsidies under the Political Funds Act.

He also urged an investigation into allegations that the Basic Income Party commissioned research services from individuals, paying between 4.5 million won and 14 million won per project. He urged an investigation into allegations that the party repaid a 30 million won loan from Yong using state subsidies.

In a statement released earlier Thursday, ahead of his questioning as complainant, Lee criticized the case as "not only a violation of the Political Funds Act but also a bizarre wealth-building scheme that boosted household income by circumventing strict limits on how political funds can be used." He urged authorities to "uncover the truth through a thorough investigation and impose strict punishment on those accused if criminal wrongdoing is confirmed."

Meanwhile, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station plans to question Kim Soon-hwan, secretary-general of the Countermeasures Committee for Public Livelihood, as a complainant Friday. The committee has accused Yong of abuse of authority and violations of the Public Official Election Act, and the case has also been assigned to the Yeongdeungpo station.

Yong has also faced a separate complaint over allegations that she used an airport VIP lounge during a family trip in the past. She has faced additional complaints over allegations that some local chapters of the Basic Income Party kept their party registration active by using apartment or farm addresses while receiving operating expenses that included state subsidies.


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