Song Young-gil, former leader of the Democratic Party and identified as the ultimate beneficiary of the '2021 Party Convention Money Envelope Suspicion,' voluntarily appeared before the prosecution for the second time following his appearance on the 2nd of last month, but the investigation did not proceed due to the prosecution's refusal.
Former leader Song Young-gil voluntarily appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 7th in connection with the Democratic Party of Korea's 'party convention money envelope suspicion' and is answering questions from reporters. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the morning of the 7th at 9:23 a.m., Song arrived at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul. He immediately entered the building and requested a meeting with the investigation team, but was denied and came back out. Song held an impromptu press conference in front of the building, criticizing, "The prosecution is focusing only on the Democratic Party’s party convention money envelope case rather than the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case involving Kim Kun-hee." He questioned, "Are they saying that Mrs. Kim will not be summoned, but Democratic Party lawmakers will have arrest warrants requested?" He added, "The current regime’s prosecution blatantly attacks only the opposition party, showing the appearance of servants, slaves, and mercenaries of the late Goryeo military regime."
Song also stated, "They are clumsily painting a picture and playing to the media based solely on illegally obtained recorded evidence without clear proof," and urged, "Stop the Indian rainmaking-style investigation that squeezes and fabricates evidence, and focus on the investigation of the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case."
He further insisted, "Do not harass those around me and request my arrest warrant." He said, "In my 24 years of political life, I have never owned real estate, let alone engaged in real estate speculation," and added, "Even now, instead of cowardly summoning people around me and forcibly coercing statements to sow discord within the Democratic Party and request arrest warrants for lawmakers, I hope the prosecution summons me and requests an arrest warrant."
The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-chul) of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, investigating the Democratic Party money envelope distribution suspicion, is focusing its investigative efforts on cross-verifying the time-based movements of suspected individuals through access records of 29 lawmakers’ offices secured via a search and seizure of the National Assembly Secretariat on the 5th.
Based on the recorded files of former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jung-geun and the testimony of former Korea Water Resources Corporation Standing Auditor Kang Rae-gu, the prosecution is analyzing seized items by specifying the period and location where the money envelopes were delivered. The prosecution believes that on the 28th and 29th of 2021, just before the party convention, independent lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok delivered money envelopes containing 3 million won each to about 20 incumbent lawmakers in the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee’s small meeting room in the National Assembly main building and the lawmakers’ office building. At that time, since former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil was the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, the committee’s small meeting room was reportedly used as the place for delivering the money envelopes.
Although the prosecution seized records from 29 lawmakers’ offices, it is believed that only 20 money envelopes were delivered at the time of the incident, so through the verification process, nine lawmakers are expected to be cleared of suspicion. Among the 29 lawmakers’ offices are those of former leader Song, lawmaker Yoon, independent lawmaker Lee Seong-man, as well as seven lawmakers from the metropolitan area, six from Honam, and two from the Chungcheong region. Of these, five to six are said to be so-called pro-Myung (pro-Lee Jae-myung) figures. Once the recipients are confirmed, the prosecution is expected to summon and investigate the individuals in turn.
The prosecution is also working hard to prepare for the voting procedure on the arrest consent bills for lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Seong-man, which is just five days away. They must organize the investigation records and send them to the Ministry of Justice. Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon plans to use this information to explain the charges against the two lawmakers and appeal for the necessity of approval before the vote in the National Assembly on the 12th.
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