The main opposition Democratic Party(DP) has strongly condemned the government over a summons by the prosecution for party leader Lee Jae-myung as part of a bribery allegations probe.

Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly on Thursday, DP floor leader Park Hong-keun said the party will discuss response options to the summons notice.

Calling the order "regrettable," he added that summoning the leader of the main opposition party and President Yoon Suk Yeol’s former opponent in the presidential election is clearly a concerted attempt by the current administration to eliminate a political opponent.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with the public at his hometown in North Gyeongsang Province on Thursday, Lee expressed similar sentiments, saying that getting rid of him does not mask the  injustice and incompetence of the ignorant Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

Earlier, the prosecution summoned Lee to appear for questioning over allegations of third-party bribery surrounding corporate donations to a football club that Lee was the de facto owner of in the mid-2010s while serving as the mayor of Seongnam.