Defense: "Requested Preliminary Inquiry from the Election Commission and Gave Gifts"
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Yang Hyang-ja, a member of the National Assembly who was indicted on charges of gifting fruit to constituents ahead of the holiday, denied the charges at the first trial.
The 12th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court (Presiding Judge No Jae-ho) held the first hearing on the 22nd for Yang Hyang-ja (Independent) and former special aide Park, who are accused of violating the Public Official Election Act.
Yang was indicted on charges of conspiring with Park, who was a special aide at the time, to provide fruit boxes worth approximately 1.9 million KRW as gifts to a total of 43 constituents between January and February.
Members of the National Assembly are prohibited from making donations to people residing in their electoral district or those with ties to the district.
Yang’s defense counsel explained, "The aide told Yang about giving holiday gifts, and Yang instructed him to proceed within the limits that do not violate the Public Official Election Act after consulting the election commission."
They added, "The aide requested payment of 3 million KRW for the gifts from Yang, and Yang did transfer the money. However, the aide was completely unaware that the gift list included constituents or people connected to them, so there was no conspiracy regarding the donation act."
When the court asked Yang if she had anything to add to her lawyer’s statement, she replied, "No," and remained reserved.
In future hearings, witness examinations are expected to be conducted for six people, including Yang’s spouse, former aides, and current secretaries.
Yang’s defense team stated that some of these witnesses have made statements unfavorable to the defendant during prosecution interviews and that they plan to correct this in upcoming trials.
The next hearing for this case is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. on the 12th of next month.
After the trial, Yang did not respond to reporters’ questions such as "Do you admit the charges?" and "How do you plan to respond going forward?"
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