Alleged implications by politicians from both ruling and opposition parties, in a pair of massive investment fraud cases, is escalating quickly into a major issue during the ongoing parliamentary audit on ministries and government agencies.  

During the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s interrogation session of 10 prosecution districts in the Seoul metropolitan area on Monday, rival parties went after each other’s alleged connection to two trillion won scam scandals involving two hedge funds, Lime and Optimus. 

The ruling Democratic Party(DP) pressured the main opposition People Power Party(PPP) by drawing attention to a prison letter from Kim Bong-hyun, a key suspect in the Lime case, who claimed to have lobbied a senior prosecutor-turned-opposition politician and prosecutors. 

Accusing the prosecution of turning a blind eye to the letter, the DP also mentioned the need to swiftly introduce an independent investigative apparatus against corruption allegations involving public figures. The creation of the independent investigative apparatus has been stalled due to opposition from the PPP. 

The PPP instead focused on the Optimus fund scandal and allegations that the company lobbied ruling bloc figures. The opposition party also criticized the prosecution, arguing that it disregarded suspicions tied to ruling party members. 

In response, senior prosecutors summoned to appear in the audit session vowed to thoroughly and fairly investigate the cases.