Ewhayeong Reverses Position Again: "Prosecutor's Statement Suggesting Lee Jaemyung's Involvement in North Korea Remittance Is False"

Former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young has reversed her position again, denying that her statements partially admitting a connection between Ssangbangwool Group's 'North Korea remittance' allegations and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, were false during the prosecution investigation.

Handwritten statement of Lee Hwa-young, former Deputy Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Kim Kwang-min, Attorney

In a handwritten statement released to the media on the 7th, former Deputy Governor Lee said, "Lee Hwa-young made some false statements suggesting that Governor Lee Jae-myung was involved (in the North Korea remittance) under continuous pressure from the prosecution, including additional indictments through separate investigations," adding, "This was an act against my conscience, and I sincerely regret it."

She claimed, "After Kim Sung-tae's arrest, I was subjected to persistent investigation by the prosecution for over eight months on the same matter, during which I was relentlessly pressured to admit the allegations against Representative Lee Jae-myung," and "It felt as if I was being investigated as a witness in the same capacity as suspect Lee Jae-myung."

She further stated, "To reiterate, neither Lee Hwa-young nor Gyeonggi Province ever requested Ssangbangwool's Kim Sung-tae or others for smart farm expenses or Governor Lee Jae-myung's trip to North Korea costs," and "Therefore, I never reported anything related to this to Governor Lee at the time, nor did I facilitate any phone connection with Kim Sung-tae."

She also emphasized, "The prosecution interrogation records in which I, Lee Hwa-young, testified regarding Representative Lee Jae-myung were made without voluntariness (spontaneity) and are not true."

On the same day, former Deputy Governor Lee released the handwritten statement through her newly appointed lawyer Kim Kwang-min. Lawyer Kim submitted the statement and a refusal to accept the prosecution interrogation records as evidence to the court.

Previously, around June, former Deputy Governor Lee partially reversed her stance, which had completely denied any connection with Ssangbangwool Group during the prosecution investigation, stating that "she requested Ssangbangwool to promote the Gyeonggi Province governor's trip to North Korea." She also reportedly testified that "she reported to Representative Lee that 'Ssangbangwool spent money in North Korea while doing business, so we (the governor's office) probably took care of it'."

With the reversal of the key testimony of former Deputy Governor Lee, a central figure in the prosecution's investigation into the North Korea remittance allegations, confusion in the prosecution's investigation of Representative Lee is inevitable. Meanwhile, based on documents from Gyeonggi Province and the National Intelligence Service secured through raids, as well as testimonies from related parties including former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Sung-tae, the prosecution reported last month that Representative Lee was involved in the North Korea remittance allegations and booked him on charges of bribery involving a third party. Representative Lee is scheduled to appear before the prosecution on the 9th for suspect questioning.