Kim Eui-gyeom Claims "Han Dong-hoon Trying to Link North Korea and Lee Jae-myung"... Han Responds "A Foreshadowing Not to Investigate?"

On the 10th, Kim Eui-gyeom, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, appeared on TBS Radio's "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory" and raised suspicions regarding Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon's business trip to the United States. Photo by TBS (YouTube screen capture).

[Asia Economy Legal Affairs Reporter Choi Seok-jin] On the 10th, Kim Ui-gyeom, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency to investigate Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, stating that Han's trip to the United States was "an investigative trip aimed at linking former President Moon Jae-in, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, and other key figures of the Moon administration to North Korea for a comprehensive crackdown."

In response, Minister Han Dong-hoon countered in a statement, "I want to ask if this is a preemptive 'foreshadowing' telling us not to investigate even if such crimes are revealed later."

The Prosecutor's Office Han Dong-hoon Visited Is the Same That Prosecuted Virgil Griffith, Who Was Imprisoned After Lecturing in North Korea

On the same day, Kim appeared on TBS Radio's "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory" and claimed that Han's visit to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York in July was to investigate cases involving Lee Jae-myung and other Democratic Party figures.

When host Kim Eo-jun asked, "You raised various questions, including that Han did not meet the U.S. Attorney General as originally intended during the trip, and this time you suggested that the purpose of the U.S. trip was to meet a specific person named Erica. In what context did this question arise?" Kim replied, "There were several suspicious aspects about Han's U.S. trip, so I kept investigating, and the first person I encountered was Virgil Griffith."

Kim explained, "He is an interesting figure who developed Ethereum, a representative cryptocurrency. North Korea is blocked from overseas remittances due to UN sanctions, but he has a political belief that this should be circumvented."

He continued, "In 2019, he went to Pyongyang and gave a lecture on how to send and receive overseas remittances through Ethereum. He was caught for this, sentenced to 63 months in prison for violating U.S. federal law, fined $100,000, and is currently incarcerated. The place that arrested and prosecuted him is the Southern District of New York Federal Prosecutor's Office, which Han Dong-hoon visited during his U.S. trip."

Kim said, "There are about 100 federal prosecutor offices, but Han specifically visited this one, and the people he met there were two deputy chief prosecutors. Not the district chief or deputy chief, but two deputy chiefs who were the prosecutors investigating Griffith."

He added, "And the photo, those interested might remember. What kind of office is this? It looked like a warehouse with ladders and water bottles rolling around. We met there. The deputy prosecutors were unprepared, while we brought a lot of materials and asked questions. We went there because we wanted to inquire about something."

Emails Between Erica and Griffith Submitted to Prosecutors Include Lee Jae-myung and Park Won-soon

Kim pointed out that Han's visit to the prosecutor's office was because the investigation materials submitted by the Southern District of New York to the court regarding the Griffith case included Democratic Party figures such as Lee Jae-myung.

Kim said, "Upon further investigation, Griffith tried to help North Korea with overseas remittances despite sanctions, and people in the South, related to the Moon Jae-in administration, might have supported this. This is a reasonable suspicion..." He added, "A new figure named Erica appears here. She has a Korean name but I will not disclose it."

He continued, "While investigating this, I found a document. It's a 50-60 page English document submitted by the Southern District of New York prosecutors to the court. It contains emails exchanged between Erica and Griffith."

Kim said, "It's not an indictment but a document with more detailed content. It includes emails between Erica and Griffith, and the emails mention Lee Jae-myung, mayor of Seongnam, Park Won-soon, mayor of Seoul, and members of the National Assembly."

Kim Eo-jun summarized, "So that's it. Virgil Griffith's spirit is that cryptocurrency transcends borders, so he intended to spread cryptocurrency to North Korea. That's why he actually went there. Around 2018-2019, interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain was high in the South, so he contacted local government heads in the South. This is what the emails say."

Kim added, "Especially, Erica and Griffith exchanged emails saying that South Korean mayors Lee Jae-myung and Park Won-soon were interested in establishing an Ethereum research institute and Ethereum servers in North Korea." He said, "At first glance, it looks like key figures of the Moon administration not only helped North Korea evade UN sanctions but also engaged in highly illegal activities."

He continued, "From the perspective of opponents or political rivals, this could be an opportunity to comprehensively crack down on key figures of the Moon administration, including Mayor Lee Jae-myung, by finding links to North Korea..."

When asked about Han's comment that the materials are publicly available on Google, Kim replied, "He fell into his own trap. This material is not on Naver's main page; it took several days to find it. When I waved this document and mentioned Erica at the National Assembly, Han responded, 'Isn't that something you can find by Googling?' So he has seen this 50-60 page English document. I only mentioned the title, but he already knew what it was. This shows how much interest Han Dong-hoon has in this case and why he hurriedly went on a business trip to the U.S. despite his busy schedule."

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Na Uk-jin, Who Accompanied Minister Han, Is a Cryptocurrency Expert

Kim emphasized again that one of the prosecutors who accompanied Han on the U.S. trip was a cryptocurrency expert, confirming that the purpose of the trip was investigative.

Kim said, "Three people accompanied Han to the U.S.: an interpreter and two prosecutors from the Ministry of Justice. One was a department head, and the other was a prosecutor."

He added, "Han went to the U.S. on June 29, and Na Uk-jin was appointed to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office the day before. So he went on the trip as a deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office. This is significant because Han is not a cryptocurrency expert, but Na Uk-jin is."

Kim said, "They went to meet the investigators who investigated Griffith. After returning, Na Uk-jin immediately started investigating overseas remittance issues involving tens of trillions of won at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office. In other words, 'Han's reason for going to the U.S. was to investigate this case,' you could say."

Na Uk-jin, who worked as the head of the International Criminal Affairs Division at the Ministry of Justice, was reassigned in July this year as the head of the International Crime Investigation Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office.

When the host asked, "One thing is clear. Han said he went for cryptocurrency investigation cooperation but did not say the target was Lee Jae-myung," Kim replied, "He said it was because of Luna and Terra, which are problematic domestically. But he said nothing about that..."

Violation of Article 8 of the Prosecutors' Office Act, High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency Should Investigate... If True, Grounds for Impeachment

At the end of the broadcast, Kim emphasized that Han's overseas trip with a sitting deputy chief prosecutor to lead an investigation violated Article 8 of the Prosecutors' Office Act, which stipulates that specific case investigations can only be directed through the Prosecutor General. He said that if proven true through an investigation by the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency, it would be grounds for impeachment.

Kim said, "Article 8 of the Prosecutors' Office Act states that the Minister of Justice cannot direct investigations on specific cases. If they want to, it must be done through the Prosecutor General. Going to the U.S. with a deputy chief prosecutor from the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office and conducting investigations can be seen as an investigation. The Minister of Justice himself did not just direct but exercised prosecutorial instincts by directly investigating and directing the deputy chief prosecutor."

He added, "I think this is a violation of Article 8 of the Prosecutors' Office Act, and the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency, which can investigate prosecutors, should investigate. If it turns out to be true, it would be grounds for impeachment."

Kim Eo-jun said, "I understand the gist well. Speaking of which, there have been recent articles titled 'Gyeonggi Province-originated North Korea Coin.' These are very recent, from last Friday and Saturday. There are articles about a KBS executive being involved, etc..."

Kim replied, "I don't know about that yet, but since Han's return from the U.S., the Financial Supervisory Service, National Tax Service, Customs Service, and prosecutors have been conducting a comprehensive investigation into mysterious overseas remittances."

When Kim Eo-jun asked, "The gist is that they are trying to link North Korea and Lee Jae-myung. Is that your claim?" Kim answered, "Yes, that's right."

Han Dong-hoon: "Is This a Crime Report or a Foreshadowing Not to Investigate?"... "Kim Ui-gyeom Often Speaks His Imaginations" Direct Criticism

Meanwhile, Minister Han issued a statement on the same day regarding Kim's claims, saying, "I want to ask whether this is a crime report or a foreshadowing telling us not to investigate even if such crimes are revealed later," and criticized Kim, saying, "He speaks his imaginations in reality, causing harm to those around him."

Han said, "If, as Kim Ui-gyeom said, a South Korean politician is linked to North Korean cryptocurrency crimes, that would be a criminal matter. But Kim is now making a 'crime report or whistleblowing,' or is he preemptively foreshadowing not to investigate if such crimes are revealed later?"

He also rebutted, "International cooperation is an inherent duty of the Ministry of Justice, and it is a normal procedural practice for the head of the Ministry's International Criminal Affairs Division, the practical department head, to accompany the Minister of Justice on overseas trips."

Han said, "'The suspicion that North Korean cryptocurrency cases are related to Lee Jae-myung' was suddenly raised by Kim Ui-gyeom himself during a National Assembly audit. He should clarify the basis for such suspicion and verify the truth with Lee Jae-myung, who is from the same party."

He added, "Like the recent 'fake handshake' incident, Kim Ui-gyeom often speaks his imaginations in reality, causing harm to those around him, which is regrettable."

The "fake handshake" incident Han referred to was when Kim claimed last month at a Ministry of Justice ceremony for the modernization of the Anyang Legal Facility and relocation of Anyang Prison that Han persistently followed Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jae-jung to the elevator to shake hands, but it was later found that the handshake location did not match Kim's claim, revealing it as false.