Song Young-gil Requests Court for Release Without Detention: "Allow Me to Form a Party the Day After Tomorrow and Engage in Political Activities"

Refused to Testify at Prosecution but Strongly Claimed Innocence in Court
"I Have No Knowledge of the Allegations"

Song Young-gil (60), former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has completely denied the allegations related to the money envelope scandal at the party convention, stating that he was unaware of the matter.

On the 4th, at the first trial hearing of the case involving violations of the Political Funds Act and bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21 (Presiding Judge Heo Kyung-moo), Song strongly asserted his innocence for about 20 minutes.

Song Young-gil, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is suspected of distributing money envelopes at the Democratic Party convention. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Regarding the money envelope allegations, he stated, "Legally, I was not involved and have no knowledge of the incident," fully denying the charges. He only expressed moral regret in terms of political responsibility.

Concerning the charges of receiving illegal political funds and bribes through the nonprofit organization 'Institute for Peace and Livelihood Issues Research' (Meoksayeon), he also said, "I was not involved at all," adding, "I have conducted my political activities with integrity without owning a single house, so to say I sold my conscience for 40 million won is an insult to me and an act of retaliation, constituting an abuse of prosecution rights." He further claimed that the search warrant used in the money envelope case was employed for so-called 'separate investigations,' arguing that the evidence collected illegally has no probative value.

He did not hide his discomfort toward the prosecution. Regarding his exercise of the right to remain silent during the prosecution’s investigation, he said, "The prosecution of the Republic of Korea, as a representative of public interest, is a political prosecutor who has abandoned objectivity, so I felt no need to speak," and criticized, "The Special Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, which is also handling the Kim Geon-hee stock manipulation case, is not investigating that case but is focusing attacks on me, claiming this is a major case."

Additionally, he requested, "With the general election approaching, I will be founding a political party (Sonamu Party) the day after tomorrow, so I ask for a non-custodial trial so that I can engage in political activities and defend myself in court." Earlier, Song had filed a bail petition on the 27th of last month requesting a non-custodial trial, and the hearing date was set for the 6th. The court plans to complete the main witness examinations by the end of April.

Song was arrested and indicted on January 4 this year on charges of involvement in distributing money envelopes totaling 66.5 million won to Democratic Party lawmakers and regional headquarters chiefs during the party convention held in March-April 2021 to secure his election as party leader. He is also accused of receiving a total of 763 million won in illegal political funds from seven businesspeople through Meoksayeon between January 2020 and December 2021 under the pretext of donations.