Regarding the First Trial Verdict of Ihwa-young... "Why Was the Peace Vice Governor Position Created?" VS "We Should Wait for the Appeal Trial"

Ehwahyoung Prison Sentence Rekindles Lee Jaemyung Judicial Risk

The court sentenced former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young to prison, reigniting the judicial risks surrounding Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Kim Min-su, spokesperson for the People Power Party, directly criticized Lee, saying, "How on earth did a position called Deputy Governor for Peace, which has never existed even once in the history of Dangun, come into being in South Korea?" Meanwhile, former Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Hyun-young countered, "There is a need to re-examine the case through the appeals trial."

On the 10th, Kim stated on YTN Radio's 'News Fighting, with Bae Seung-hee,' "The defense attorney for former Deputy Governor Lee claimed, 'Because Lee Jae-myung is innocent, Lee Hwa-young is also innocent.' This means that if Lee Hwa-young is guilty, then Lee Jae-myung is guilty as well," and criticized, "It is unreasonable to say that the person Lee Jae-myung placed in the Deputy Governor for Peace position acted independently."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the continuation of the first trial related to the 'Daejang-dong breach of trust and Seongnam FC bribery' case at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 7th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He continued, "It is a well-known fact that in 2018, when President Moon Jae-in held the inter-Korean summit, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung wanted to accompany him but was unable to do so," and argued, "At that time, Lee Jae-myung, who aspired to be president, had the ambition to achieve independent results in inter-Korean relations to become president, so he created the unprecedented position of Deputy Governor for Peace and brought in Lee Hwa-young."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party side believes the outcome of the appeals trial should be awaited. Former lawmaker Shin said, "This first trial verdict is a biased judgment relying on the testimony of Ssangbangwool," and "There are national intelligence documents indicating that Ssangbangwool's remittance to North Korea was actually prearranged with North Korea to boost the company's stock price, but this was not sufficiently reflected in the trial's conclusion."

She added, "It appears to be a confrontation between the prosecution and opposition party suppression and the Ssangbangwool case, so it is necessary to quickly re-examine and verify the matters related to the appeals trial."

Meanwhile, former Deputy Governor Lee, who is accused of involvement in Ssangbangwool Group's illegal $8 million remittance to North Korea and receiving bribes worth several hundred million won, was sentenced on the 7th in the first trial to 9 years and 6 months in prison, a fine of 250 million won, and a confiscation of 325.95 million won. This came about 1 year and 8 months after he was indicted on October 14, 2022.