"No Evidentiary Value in Jongpil Lee's Testimony, Lacking Credibility"
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Former Daegu High Prosecutor General Yoon Gap-geun, who was indicted on charges of soliciting the resale of Lime funds to Woori Bank, denied all charges at his first trial.
At the hearing held on the 27th at the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judge Shin Hyuk-jae), Yoon’s defense team stated, "The charges of bribery do not hold true from both factual and legal perspectives," and added, "We deny all the prosecution’s allegations."
Yoon’s defense attorney pointed out, "Although the prosecution alleges that the defendant received 220 million KRW as consulting fees from Metropolitan, they did not investigate Metropolitan, the contracting party, and based the indictment solely on the testimony of former Lime Vice President Lee Jong-pil," adding, "Lee’s testimony lacks evidentiary value and credibility."
They continued, "The prosecution claims that the consulting contract was created retroactively in a formal manner, but considering the contract’s content and the process of its conclusion, it should be regarded as a legitimate consulting agreement with corresponding fees received," and added, "Receiving the payment transparently through a corporate account and even paying taxes on it is contrary to common sense."
Previously, Yoon was arrested and indicted on charges of receiving bribes worth approximately 220 million KRW from Lee and others, along with a request to Woori Bank to resell Lime Asset Management’s funds after Woori Bank stopped selling Lime funds in 2019.
Yoon explained that he had entered into a legitimate consulting contract and received legal consulting fees, but the prosecution viewed the money as a bribe for illicit solicitation.
Kim Bong-hyun, former chairman of Star Mobility and identified as the actual controller of Lime, claimed in a prison letter last year that "several hundred million KRW were paid to a former prosecutor general turned opposition party politician and a lawyer over the Lime fund solicitation case, and lobbying was also conducted with Woori Bank’s president and vice president."
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