Kim Yong's Side Claims "Never Received Money from Yoo Dong-gyu"... Alleges Malicious Indictment

"In Community Relationships, Bribery Does Not Constitute"

Kim Yong, a former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has completely denied bribery charges.

On the 11th, Kim’s defense attorney stated at a trial held before the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu), "There is no fact that money was received from Yoo Dong-gyu," and condemned it as "a malicious prosecution by the prosecution."

Former Deputy Director Kim Yong of the Democratic Research Institute, who is accused of "receiving illegal presidential election funds," is entering the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 11th to attend the trial.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Kim is accused of receiving a total of 190 million KRW in four installments from Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, between February 2013 and April 2014, while serving as a standing member of the Urban Construction Committee of Seongnam City Council, in exchange for facilitating the establishment of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and the Daejang-dong development project.

In response, the defense argued that if the relationship between Kim and Yoo is assumed, as the prosecution claims, to be a "community" aimed at electing Lee as president, then the bribery charge does not logically hold. The defense emphasized, "City council members are not administrative officials and therefore do not have the authority to provide 'facilitation related to development projects,'" adding, "Rather, it would be possible for Kim to request favors from the head of the Urban Development Corporation, who oversees more than 600 people, but the reverse is impossible." They also pointed out that the so-called 'Jung Young-hak recordings' contain no mention related to Kim.

The court stated, "The issue is the structure in which a public official gave money received from a businessman to a higher-ranking official, and on what basis the money was given," adding, "We need to examine whether the money was actually paid, whether it was political funds or bribes, and if bribes, how to interpret the scope of job relevance."

This trial was the first hearing since Kim was released on bail on the 4th. The court, which had been reviewing Kim’s alleged receipt of illegal political funds amounting to 847 million KRW until the previous hearings, began examining the bribery charges from this session. Starting from the 25th, the court plans to sequentially question witnesses including Yoo, Nam, accountant Jung Young-hak, and Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, who are all involved in the Daejang-dong case.