On the 9th, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who appeared at the prosecution as a suspect in bribery charges related to the 'illegal remittance to North Korea' allegations involving Ssangbangwool Group, ended his investigation after 8 hours due to health reasons. The prosecution, unable to complete the prepared investigation that day, notified Lee to appear again on the 12th for further questioning.
After the prosecution's investigation began that day, Lee disclosed an 8-page statement on his SNS. While he actively responded to some of the prosecutor's questions, he reportedly substituted answers to key questions related to the charges with the statement he had submitted before the investigation started.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is making a statement as he appears at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the morning of the 9th to be investigated as a suspect in connection with the 'Ssangbangwool Group's remittance to North Korea' allegations.
The Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Kim Young-nam) began questioning Lee at 10:30 a.m. and concluded around 6:30 p.m. The prosecution stated that Lee requested to halt the investigation citing health reasons.
A Suwon District Prosecutors' Office official said, "We conducted the suspect investigation of Lee from 10:30 a.m., but at 6:40 p.m., we stopped the investigation upon Lee's request to discontinue further questioning due to health reasons."
He added, "Lee will soon begin reviewing the investigation records, and he has been notified to appear again at 10:30 a.m. on the 12th for the remaining investigation."
The investigation of Lee was reportedly conducted with 20-minute breaks every two hours. After the morning session, there was a break of about 40 minutes before the questioning resumed around 1 p.m.
The investigation team included Deputy Chief Prosecutor Song Min-kyung (age 43, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 37) and Prosecutor Park Sang-yong (age 42, class 38) from the Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office. Lawyer Park Gyun-taek (class 21), former Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office chief and head of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, participated as Lee's defense counsel.
Unlike previous investigations, Lee reportedly actively answered the prosecutor's questions that day. He particularly provided relatively detailed statements regarding the third-party bribery allegations related to remittances to North Korea. It is said that for certain questions, he gave answers equivalent to about two pages of A4 paper.
However, Lee reportedly substituted answers to key questions related to the charges with the pre-submitted statement.
Lee arrived at Suwon District Prosecutors' Office around 10:15 a.m. and, before going up to the investigation room, told reporters, "The people are the nation, and those who deny popular sovereignty are anti-state forces." He added, "President Yoon Seok-yeol should apologize to the people for acts that destroy democracy, livelihoods, and peace, which deny popular sovereignty."
He continued, "The direction of state affairs must be completely changed, and the cabinet should resign en masse to reform the government. It is said that 'flowers do not last ten days.' Power may seem strong and eternal, but that too is only temporary. History and truth show that regimes that do not fear the people are inevitably judged. Even if political prosecutors manipulate and distort facts, the truth cannot be imprisoned forever."
After reading the prepared statement, Lee went up to the investigation room without answering any questions from reporters such as "Did you receive reports related to remittances to North Korea?"
After the investigation began, the contents of the statement submitted to the prosecution were disclosed through his SNS.
In the statement, Lee said, "While serving as governor of Gyeonggi Province, I attempted humanitarian support and exchange projects with the North, but I never provided or requested to provide any money or valuables to the North in violation of South Korean law or UN sanctions under any pretext."
He also emphasized, "Furthermore, I have never received any improper requests directly or indirectly from so-called Ssangbangwool Group affiliates, nor have I instructed, encouraged, or requested anyone, including the North, to provide money or benefits."
Lee stated, "The prosecution's investigation related to Ssangbangwool has shifted from my 'lawyer fee payment' case to 'payment of North Korea visit expenses.' I have never requested Ssangbangwool to pay money to the North, whether for smart farms or visits, and neither Gyeonggi Province nor I have any obligation or reason to provide $8 million or 10 billion won to the North."
Referring to the recent reversal of testimony by former Gyeonggi Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young, Lee said, "The testimonies of Kim Seong-tae and Lee Hwa-young, made under desperate circumstances, lack consistency and credibility." He added, "I do not know what Lee Hwa-young testified to the prosecution, but the claim that I approved the payment of North Korea visit expenses is not true, and if there is any testimony from Lee Hwa-young supporting that, it is false."
He further stated, "Lee Hwa-young's false testimony can only be explained by undue pressure and inducement from the prosecution and Kim Seong-tae's group."
The Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance allegations involve former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Seong-tae sending a total of $8 million to North Korea in 2019, including $5 million for a North Korean smart farm support project that Gyeonggi Province should have funded at the request of former Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young, and $3 million for Lee Jae-myung's visit expenses to North Korea as governor of Gyeonggi Province at that time. The prosecution recently booked Lee on charges of third-party bribery, suspecting his involvement in Ssangbangwool's payments.
Former Deputy Governor Lee, who was arrested and indicted on charges of receiving bribes and political funds from former Chairman Kim, had denied the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance allegations but partially reversed his testimony during a prosecution investigation in June, stating that he requested Ssangbangwool to promote the governor's visit to North Korea. However, after the lawyer trusted by Kim was replaced for unclear reasons and a Democratic Party lawyer who had worked in Lee's campaign was appointed, Lee recently reversed his testimony again.
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