The Democratic Party of Korea strongly pressured the prosecution on the 18th regarding the so-called 'drinking party bribery' allegations exposed by former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young.
The prosecution, which conducted its own fact-finding investigation, rebutted again the previous day based on testimonies from related parties and evidence such as departure records, calling it a "clear falsehood," but the Democratic Party appears to be gradually increasing the intensity of its offensive against the prosecution.
On the morning of the 18th, Democratic Party lawmakers held a press conference condemning the 'Suspected Fabrication of Testimonies in Ssangbangwool's North Korea Remittance Case' at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by SBS News Screen Capture
On the morning of the same day, the Democratic Party held a condemnation press conference related to the 'Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance testimony fabrication allegations' at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province. Attending the event were Park Chan-dae, co-chairman of the Democratic Party's Countermeasures Committee Against Prosecutorial Dictatorship and Political Oppression, Kim Seung-won, chairman of the Legal Committee, Kim Ji-ho, vice chairman, along with several affiliated lawmakers and elected official Kim Jun-hyuk.
Chairman Park stated, "Former Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young testified in court about detailed circumstances of conspiring to fabricate testimonies while having a salmon, sashimi rice bowl, and soju party inside the prosecution office regarding the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case," adding, "If true, this is a very serious matter involving investigation manipulation with suspicions of major crimes, where political prosecutors tried to suppress the opposition party leader and essentially create false charges to destroy him."
Democratic Party lawmakers attending the press conference said, "If the prosecution does not even show the will to reveal the truth themselves, we will push for a national audit and special prosecutor to definitely uncover the truth," urging the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to conduct an immediate direct inspection. After the press conference, they planned to visit Suwon Detention Center in protest and at 2 p.m. to visit the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to demand an inspection of the prosecutors at Suwon District Prosecutors' Office.
Additionally, the Democratic Party is considering forming a 'Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Drinking Party Bribery Fabrication Fact-Finding Team (tentative name)' and filing complaints with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials against the prosecutors in charge of Lee’s investigation and the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office's command line prosecutors before and after personnel changes.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, based on a full investigation of 38 correctional officers who guarded former Deputy Governor Lee the previous day, investigations of Ssangbangwool Group officials including former Chairman Kim Seong-tae and former Vice Chairman Bang Yong-cheol who were claimed to have attended the drinking party, and verification of food orders and departure records, stated, "Former Deputy Governor Lee’s claims are clear falsehoods," and warned, "If baseless false claims continue to be asserted as facts, we will consider legal countermeasures."
Lee, who is on trial for the North Korea remittance allegations, claimed in court on the last defense day on the 4th that "around June last year, in the anteroom of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office prosecutor's office, I drank with Ssangbangwool Group’s former Chairman Kim and former Vice Chairman Bang, who were co-defendants, and fabricated testimonies." Lee’s side corrected the specific date and location of the drinking party the previous day, but the prosecution maintains that this is also a false claim that does not add up.
Former Deputy Governor Lee was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 1 billion KRW at the sentencing trial on the 8th and is awaiting the sentencing trial scheduled for June 7. The prosecution is expected to proceed with indictment steps against Representative Lee Jae-myung, who is currently registered as a suspect, if a guilty verdict is handed down against former Deputy Governor Lee.
There is an analysis among prosecution circles that former Deputy Governor Lee, who is expected to receive a heavy sentence, made this exposure under the judgment that he must somehow block the prosecution of Representative Lee or ensure Representative Lee is acquitted so that he might later hope for a pardon.
Regardless of the truthfulness of the exposure, for Representative Lee and the Democratic Party, it is a favorable development that damages the credibility of the prosecution’s investigation and reduces Representative Lee’s judicial risks, so the pressure on the prosecution is expected to intensify further in the future.
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