Prosecution to Challenge Song Young-gil's 'Not Guilty' Claim... Showdown Expected on the 8th

Former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil continues to publicly assert his 'innocence' ahead of the prosecution investigation related to the 'Party Convention Money Envelope Distribution Incident' scheduled for the 8th. Accordingly, it is anticipated that Song and the prosecution will confront each other in a 'strong versus strong' standoff during the actual investigation.

Song Young-gil, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to the legal community on the 5th, Song asserted his innocence and expressed his determination not to be swayed by unfair prosecution investigations during the 'Song Young-gil's Declaration of War Book Concerts' held in Daegu and Busan on the 2nd and 3rd. On the 2nd in Daegu, he said, "If the prosecution requests an arrest warrant, I am confident it will be dismissed." On the 3rd in Busan, he threatened, "When I appear before the prosecution on the 8th, I will say, 'Do not ask me a single word until the investigation into President Yoon Seok-yeol's wife, Kim Gun-hee, regarding stock manipulation suspicions is completed.'"

He is expected to continue such remarks until just before entering the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation room on the 8th. On the previous day, Song wrote on his social media account, "I will hold a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office at 8:30 a.m. on the 8th and then appear before the prosecution," adding, "I will face it confidently." According to political circles, Song is reportedly firmly convinced of his innocence. Political insiders say that he repeatedly assured his close aides that "it will ultimately be concluded as no charges," almost as if chanting a mantra regarding the prosecution investigation against him. Song's voluntary appearances for investigation at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on May 2 and June 7, as well as his request to convene the Prosecution Investigation Deliberation Committee on the 3rd of last month, are also said to have been actions taken out of his confidence in his innocence.

On the other hand, Song is known to have been preparing for the prosecution's summons and investigation for eight months since returning from Paris, France, in April. He frequently contacted individuals who had been summoned and investigated by the prosecution to monitor the investigation's progress and continuously observed the trial situations of Lee Jung-geun, former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General, and Kang Rae-gu, former Standing Auditor of Korea Water Resources Corporation, who were indicted earlier.

Song maintains the position that "during the party leader election, it was difficult for candidates to manage every detail of the campaign, so I was unaware of the money envelope incident." He is expected to reiterate this claim during the prosecution investigation on the 8th. It is anticipated that he will strongly clash with the prosecution, which is confident in securing human and material evidence indicating that Song was aware of the distribution process.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon), which has been investigating the money envelope incident, plans to confirm more clearly the charges against 20 Democratic Party lawmakers suspected of receiving money envelopes through Song's investigation and lay the groundwork for compulsory investigation. In particular, the investigation team is expected to focus on whether Song was directly or indirectly involved in or at least aware of the distribution of 94 million won by Song's election campaign ahead of the 2021 Democratic Party convention election. They also plan to verify allegations that Song's external organization, the 'Peace and Livelihood Research Institute (Meoksa-yeon),' covered election expenses amounting to hundreds of millions of won for consulting fees and office equipment rental for Song's campaign.

After summoning Song for investigation on the 8th, the prosecution is expected to review his detention over the weekend. If the prosecution judges that Song strongly denies the charges during the investigation and there is a high risk of evidence destruction or collusion with related parties, it is highly likely that they will request an arrest warrant.

Meanwhile, recent court testimonies have increasingly suggested that Song was aware of the money envelope distribution. At the trial of independent lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok and Kang Rae-gu held yesterday at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-2 (Presiding Judges Kim Jeong-gon, Kim Mi-kyung, Heo Kyung-moo), Kim, a businessman who acted as a 'sponsor' providing funds for the money envelope distribution in Song's election campaign, appeared as a witness and stated, "On the morning of the campaign disbandment ceremony in June 2021, Song Young-gil said, 'Thank you for helping in various ways.'" Kim added, "Since I had not provided any other assistance besides delivering 50 million won to the campaign, I understood Song's gratitude as acknowledgment of the financial support."