Ewhayeong Side Questions Ssangbangwool's North Korea Remittance, "Were You Scammed by the North?"

On the 10th, the side of former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young, a key figure in the North Korea remittance case, launched a barrage of questions at an executive of Ssangbangwool Group during the trial, asking, "Were you deceived by North Korea?" This appears to be a strategy to pin the incident solely on Ssangbangwool Group.

Former Vice Governor of Peace of Gyeonggi Province, Lee Hwa-young [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Seo Min-seok, the lawyer representing former Deputy Governor Lee, questioned Ssangbangwool Vice Chairman Bang Yong-chul, who appeared as a witness at the 19th trial of Lee’s bribery case held by the Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Shin Jin-woo). Seo asked, "The witness testified that in November or December 2018, North Korea’s Kim Sung-hye expressed dissatisfaction saying, 'Gyeonggi Province promised to provide money for installing smart farms but did not pay.' However, at that time, there were sanctions against North Korea, so money could not be sent directly. Knowing this, is it true that North Korea still said that?"

He continued, "North Korea, aware of the sanctions, would not say such things. Did Kim Sung-tae, chairman of Ssangbangwool, or Bang Yong-chul lie to Ssangbangwool knowing that they were not well informed about the sanctions?"

Vice Chairman Bang and former Chairman Kim Sung-tae claim that at the end of 2018, after hearing from Kim Sung-hye, director of the North Korean Committee for Asia-Pacific Peace, that "Lee Hwa-young promised to support the smart farm project but did not keep the promise," they delivered $5 million to North Korea on behalf of Gyeonggi Province.

In response to this question, Vice Chairman Bang said, "Lee Hwa-young said it was okay to give the money. When we secured the business rights, he talked about potential benefits and said the sanctions would be lifted. I asked several times if it was okay to give the money." He added, "I have known Lee Hwa-young for 20 years, and since he was an outside director and advisor of Ssangbangwool and used the Ssangbangwool corporate card, I believed him."

The former deputy governor’s side also questioned the nature of the $5 million. Lawyer Seo asked, "According to the statements of Ssangbangwool officials to the prosecution, some said the $5 million was a customary bribe or a down payment when starting a business in North Korea. Is it true that this was the payment for the smart farm, or was it a down payment for economic cooperation with Ssangbangwool?"

Vice Chairman Bang replied, "The $5 million also had the nature of a down payment."

During the trial, the reason why Vice Chairman Bang, who had denied bribery charges against former Deputy Governor Lee, reversed his testimony was also discussed.

Lawyer Seo said, "The witness initially denied giving the corporate card to former Deputy Governor Lee but later admitted it, and changed his stance as if he led the charges of aiding a criminal and destroying evidence. Was this reversal a decision to acknowledge bribery in exchange for reducing issues related to Kim Sung-tae’s embezzlement and breach of trust, and the risk of suspension or delisting of the exchange?"

Vice Chairman Bang responded, "From my perspective, trying to cover the sky with my palm, being a first-time offender with no trial experience, I thought I might be deceived if I said a few words, so I gave false testimony. Honestly, I was scared and thought, 'I was wrong.' That’s why I confessed and changed lawyers."

He added, "I spoke twice with the former chairman (Kim Sung-tae) before my detention. The chairman said, 'Hey, confess.' I also spoke with Lee Hwa-young, who said, 'Brother, admit it. The Political Funds Act isn’t that strict.'"