“This is What Kind of Serious Crime?” Song Young-gil Finally Arrested... Court Says “Important Case, Concern Over Evidence Tampering” (Summary)

Song Young-gil, former leader of the Democratic Party, who is accused of involvement in the distribution of money envelopes during the party convention, was arrested on the 18th.

With the prosecution successfully securing custody of Song, who can be considered the biggest beneficiary of the money envelope scandal, investigations into Democratic Party lawmakers who received the money envelopes are expected to gain momentum.

Song Young-gil, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is suspected of distributing money envelopes during the party's presidential election, is answering reporters' questions as he appears at the detention hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 18th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Chief Judge Yoo Chang-hoon: “Criminal charges substantiated, case importance, and concern over evidence destruction”

On the day, Yoo Chang-hoon, chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, conducted the warrant hearing for Song, who was charged with violations of the Political Parties Act, Political Funds Act, and bribery under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. Around 11:59 p.m., Yoo issued an arrest warrant for Song, stating, “The criminal charges are substantiated, and there is concern over evidence destruction.”

Judge Yoo first stated, “It is substantiated that the suspect received a large amount of illegal political funds and was involved to some extent in the receipt of money related to the party leadership election, making this a significant matter.”

He added, “Considering the suspect’s actions and all circumstances confirmed during the investigation regarding personal and material evidence, there is also concern over evidence destruction.”

Earlier, on the 13th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (led by Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon) filed an arrest warrant for Song on charges of violating the Political Parties Act, Political Funds Act, and bribery under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, related to the money envelope scandal at the Democratic Party convention and donations received from the external support organization ‘Peace and Livelihood Issues Research Institute (Meoksa-yeon).’

Song is accused of being involved in the distribution process of money envelopes totaling 66.5 million KRW to Democratic Party lawmakers and regional headquarters chiefs during March to April 2021, ahead of the party convention. Additionally, he is accused of receiving a total of 763 million KRW in illegal political funds from seven individuals through Meoksa-yeon between January 2020 and December 2021. Among these, the 40 million KRW received from Park Yong-ha, former chairman of the Yeosu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in July to August 2021, is also subject to bribery charges.

Song Young-gil: “An internal party feast, what kind of serious crime is this?” vs. Prosecution: “A serious crime infringing on the inviolability of elections”

Regarding the money envelope case, Song described the party convention for electing the party leader as an “internal party feast,” arguing that “What kind of serious crime is this that over 100 people are being investigated by 14 prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, mobilizing section chiefs for six months? It’s driving me crazy,” implying that it is not a serious crime.

On the other hand, the prosecution has investigated the case from the perspective that the distribution of tens of millions of KRW during the party leader election process is a “serious crime infringing on party democracy and the inviolability of elections (the nature of elections being unpurchasable by money).”

Regarding the charges of violating the Political Funds Act related to Meoksa-yeon, Song has maintained the position that “there is no problem as the accounting was conducted normally,” while the prosecution has stated that it is a “collusion crime that transformed a public interest corporation into an external organization used as a warehouse for illegal political funds.”

Until now, Song has claimed he was completely unaware of the money envelope distribution and that there were no legal issues with Meoksa-yeon’s funds. However, with the court recognizing the seriousness of the charges and issuing an arrest warrant, the opposition’s claim of a “political prosecution targeting” is unlikely to hold much persuasive power.

Song Young-gil, who exercised the right to remain silent during prosecution investigation, actively testified in court

On the morning of the warrant hearing, Song appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, stating, “I exercised my right to remain silent during the prosecution investigation, but I will humbly and sincerely explain everything with my lawyer in court.”

When asked if he had ever tried to persuade campaign staff to avoid punishment, he said, “What I want to clearly say is that the prosecution searched over 100 people around me, and during that process, someone died,” adding, “I am exercising my legitimate right to defense as a suspect against the coercive investigation by the prosecution.”

When asked whether he received off-the-books election funds, he avoided a direct answer, saying, “I will explain the specific facts in court.”

Regarding the illegal political funds charges, he claimed, “The money was not received by me personally but was deposited into the official support account of the ‘Peace and Livelihood Issues Research Institute’ (Meoksa-yeon), and it was officially spent and transparently reported,” adding, “Since the money envelope charges were not proven, they investigated it as a separate case.”

During the warrant hearing, about five prosecutors, including Seo Min-seok and Yoon Seok-hwan, deputy chiefs of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 who participated in the investigation, presented Song’s charges and concerns over evidence destruction through a 250-page PowerPoint presentation.

In particular, the prosecution emphasized the necessity of detention by highlighting that Song replaced his previously used mobile phone upon returning from France and submitted it to the investigation team, and that there are indications he used a borrowed phone to monitor the investigation’s progress and persuade related persons.

On the defense side, lawyers Sun Jong-moon and Jeon Byung-duk attended, arguing that Song was unaware of the money envelope distribution and that there was no risk of flight or evidence destruction.

Song himself reportedly took the opportunity to speak in detail about his position during the warrant hearing, according to his lawyers.

Fierce dispute between prosecution and Song’s side over the nature of Meoksa-yeon

The warrant hearing, which began at 10 a.m., lasted for six hours and 30 minutes until 4:30 p.m. Song reportedly took a lunch break inside the courtroom from 12:45 p.m. for about 50 minutes before resuming the hearing.

Judge Yoo reportedly listened to the prosecution and Song’s side in order regarding the charges of illegal political funds received through Meoksa-yeon, off-the-books political funds and bribery charges, and money envelope distribution, and clarified any doubts.

Especially during the hearing, a fierce dispute arose over the nature of Meoksa-yeon, which was identified as a channel for illegal political funds.

Song’s elder brother and lawyer, Song Young-cheon, who attended the hearing, said, “The prosecution is targeting Meoksa-yeon as an external organization and assuming that all its membership fees are political funds. However, we argue that Meoksa-yeon is not a political organization as an external group, so it cannot be considered political funds.”

After the hearing ended around 4:33 p.m., Song said, “The prosecution summoned suspects five to six times each for investigation, and even summoned Lee Jung-geun, who is already indicted, for additional questioning to obtain favorable statements.”

He added, “During the coercive investigation, someone could have died, and some people have undergone psychiatric treatment. Shouldn’t they be comforted? We called witnesses to check the situation for exercising our defense rights, but if that is claimed as evidence destruction, it is too unfair a game.”

Investigation into lawmakers who received money envelopes likely to accelerate... Yoon Kwan-seok: “Mistakes made while helping party leader candidate”

With Song’s arrest, investigations into 20 incumbent Democratic Party lawmakers who received money envelopes are expected to accelerate.

Meanwhile, the prosecution requested a five-year prison sentence at the sentencing hearing for independent lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok, who was previously indicted in connection with the money envelope scandal. For Kang Rae-gu, former standing auditor of Korea Water Resources Corporation, also indicted, the prosecution requested one year imprisonment for violating the Political Funds Act, two years imprisonment and a fine of 10 million KRW for bribery and other crimes, and a confiscation of 3 million KRW.

In his final statement, Yoon admitted and expressed remorse for his crime, saying, “I lost vigilance and proceeded while disregarding illegal parts, resulting in a serious mistake. I am very ashamed and devastated.”

He also admitted to distributing money envelopes to help the party leader candidate at the time, Song, saying, “Although I made mistakes while helping the party leader candidate, it was not to gain any special position or benefit.”

Chief Judge Yoo Chang-hoon likely faced heavy burden, knowing he would be criticized regardless of decision

Chief Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, who presided over Song’s warrant hearing, likely conducted the hearing under a heavy burden unlike any other case.

Previously, in September, Yoo dismissed the prosecution’s arrest warrant request for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, on charges of perjury coaching in the trial related to Baekhyun-dong development and illegal remittance to North Korea, as well as violations of the Public Official Election Act.

At that time, Yoo stated, “The perjury coaching charge appears substantiated,” but dismissed the warrant citing disputes over other charges and the fact that evidence had already been secured, which sparked controversy.

After the warrant dismissal, conservative civic groups hung large banners with Yoo’s photo and the phrase “political judge” around Seocho-dong and Gangnam Station areas, and the court administration even filed a police complaint against these groups.

From Yoo’s perspective, dismissing Song’s warrant would have led to harsher attacks from conservative groups labeling him a “leftist judge,” while issuing the warrant meant facing targeting by Democratic Party supporters, especially the strong supporters known as “Gaeddal” (Reform’s daughters). This likely caused significant pressure.

Therefore, Yoo likely made his decision strictly based on legal grounds and the presented evidence, clearly stating the necessity and reasons for detention.