Notice of Application for Constitutional Review Referral of Enforcement Decree of the 'Geomsu Wanbak' Law
Song Young-gil, leader of the Sonamu Party, who is on trial for allegations related to the distribution of cash envelopes at the Democratic Party's party convention, described former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jeong-geun's claim that he instructed perjury as "an exaggeration and a misunderstanding."
On the 3rd, Song told reporters on his way to attend the trial for violations of the Political Parties Act and Political Funds Act at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21 (Presiding Judge Heo Kyung-moo), "The court must have understood," referring to the claim. Song appeared in court for the first time without detention since being released on bail on the 30th of last month.
Song Young-gil, representative of Sonamudang, is attending the continuation of the first trial of the Democratic Party of Korea's party convention money envelope case held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul on the 3rd.
Song said, "Lee said she was upset because I did not meet her husband, but if I meet someone, it is called evidence tampering, so how could I meet them?" He added, "Calling the message 'Let's stay strong and plan for the future' a form of coercion is an exaggeration and a misunderstanding."
Earlier, on the 29th of last month, Lee appeared as a witness in Song's trial and testified that Song was aware of the overall Democratic Party cash envelope allegations.
At that time, Lee stated that in March 2021, independent lawmaker Lee Seong-man and Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Sam-seok each handed her 11 million won and 2 million won respectively as off-the-books funds, and that this was reported to Song.
She also testified that 10 million won of the money provided by lawmaker Lee was distributed to regional headquarters chiefs as transportation expenses along with Kang Rae-gu, former standing auditor of the Korea Water Resources Corporation, and that this was reported to Song.
Lee testified, "This reporting is an unwritten rule in all election camps. From the perspective of contributors, it is like taking out insurance. There can be no delivery accidents or failure to report in the middle," adding, "I reported every single won of the money that passed through me without exception and considered it essential."
Lee also testified that Song would have known about independent lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok distributing 20 cash envelopes containing 3 million won each to Democratic Party lawmakers twice on April 27-28, 2021.
Lee, who was present at the meeting between Song and lawmaker Yoon at the campaign office on the evening of the 28th, also testified that there was a brown paper envelope containing the subdivided cash envelopes on the table.
Furthermore, Lee claimed that Song instructed her to commit perjury in a way favorable to him. She said that Song conveyed a note through her husband, whom he met at a book launch event last November, saying, "Trust me and let's plan for the future together."
Earlier, upon his release on bail from Seoul Detention Center on the 30th of last month, Song responded to questions from reporters about Lee's claims, saying, "I will explain in detail later, but Lee's civil creditor-debtor relationship was changed to the crime of mediation of bribery, and it has nothing to do with the cash envelope case. How did Lee's recorded files end up being used in the cash envelope investigation?" He added, "We argue that using these files arbitrarily without a warrant means they have no evidentiary value."
On this day, Song also stated, "The government's revision of enforcement ordinances has nullified the National Assembly's 'complete removal of prosecution's investigative authority' (Geomsu Wanbak) legislation," and warned, "Since this exceeds the limits of delegated legislation, we will file a request for a constitutional review next week."
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