20 Lawmakers Approaching Money Envelope Exchange Site... Tension Over Song Young-gil's Arrest Warrant

As the prosecution moves to secure the custody of former leader Song Young-gil, who has been identified as the central figure in the Democratic Party of Korea's 'party convention money envelope distribution' scandal, the political and legal circles are closely watching the outcome of the warrant hearing. There are also forecasts that the decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant for former leader Song will be a 'critical turning point' that will significantly influence the prosecution's investigation into the money envelope allegations.

Former leader of the Democratic Party, Song Young-gil, who was identified as the ultimate beneficiary of the Democratic Party's money envelope scandal, is holding a press conference as he appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 8th for his first summons investigation. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Seoul Central District Court will decide the date for former leader Song's pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant hearing) as early as that day. Previously, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon) filed an arrest warrant request against former leader Song on charges of violating the Political Parties Act, the Political Funds Act, and bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. Once the warrant hearing schedule is confirmed, the tension in Seocho-dong is expected to rise further. Former leader Song is scheduled to share his thoughts on the warrant hearing during a YouTube broadcast under his name at 4 p.m. that day. He wrote on his Facebook the day before, "An arrest warrant has been requested. I will prepare well for the warrant hearing with my lawyers."

The prosecution is confident in securing former leader Song's detention, citing that the money envelope case is a serious crime that undermines the foundation of representative democracy and that thorough investigations have been conducted, including the detention of key figures involved in the case. The fact that recently detained suspects have given testimonies unfavorable to former leader Song in court is also a favorable circumstance for the prosecution. Since former leader Song is the gateway to 20 incumbent lawmakers suspected of receiving the money envelopes, the prosecution is in a position where it must secure his custody.

If former leader Song is detained, the Democratic Party's criticism that the prosecution is conducting a politically motivated 'targeted investigation' will lose credibility, and the prosecution is expected to gain legitimacy for the investigation, accelerating the probe into the 20 incumbent lawmakers who received the money envelopes. During the warrant hearing, the prosecution is expected to emphasize the gravity of the case and the fact that Kang Rae-gu, former Standing Auditor of Korea Water Resources Corporation, and Park Yong-su, who worked as former leader Song's aide, were released on bail on the 14th and 12th of last month respectively, raising the possibility that they might coordinate their stories or destroy evidence, thereby arguing the necessity of former leader Song's detention.

On the other hand, if the arrest warrant for former leader Song is dismissed following the dismissal of the warrant for Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, the prosecution is expected to face a tremendous backlash. The opposition's criticism of the investigation as an 'excessive political planned investigation' will gain traction, and it is anticipated that the prosecution's investigation will inevitably slow down. For this reason, the legal community has also analyzed that the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant for former leader Song is a "somewhat risky attempt." Since former leader Song has repeatedly asserted his innocence and said, "I am confident that the arrest warrant will be dismissed," a fierce confrontation between the prosecution and former leader Song is expected during the warrant hearing.

Former leader Song is suspected of being involved in the distribution of money envelopes totaling 66.5 million won to Democratic Party lawmakers and regional headquarters chiefs during March to April 2021, ahead of the party convention. In addition, he is accused of receiving a total of 763 million won in illegal political funds from seven individuals through an external support organization called the 'Peace and Livelihood Research Institute (Meoksayeon)' from January 2020 to December 2021. Among these, the prosecution judged that 40 million won received by former leader Song from Park Yong-ha, former chairman of the Yeosu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in July to August 2021 was a bribe given along with an illicit request to persuade for the expedited processing of permits related to the new and expanded incineration facilities within the Yeosu National Industrial Complex. While the money envelope-related charges have already been brought to trial with many suspects detained, this will be the first time the court will rule on other charges such as illegal political funds from Meoksayeon, making the outcome highly anticipated.