Gyeonggi Province: "Deliberate Non-Submission of Prosecutor's Rebuttal Materials in Lee Hwa-young Trial? ...Unreasonable Claim"

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province expressed strong regret over some media reports suggesting that it deliberately withheld crucial prosecution rebuttal materials related to the trial of former Gyeonggi Vice Governor Ihwa-Young, calling such claims "irrational."

On the 26th, Gyeonggi Province issued a statement from the spokesperson's office, saying, "In today's (26th) Chosun Ilbo article, lawmakers including Min Hyung-bae imply that Gyeonggi Province deliberately did not submit decisive materials to counter the prosecution in the trial of former Vice Governor Ihwa-Young," and dismissed this as "an irrational claim that does not correspond to the facts."

In particular, regarding the claim that refusing to submit materials aids the prosecution, the province expressed deep regret, explaining, "The materials requested by Assemblyman Kim Kwang-min (Ihwa-Young's attorney) were also recently requested by a People Power Party lawmaker, but Gyeonggi Province refused to submit them due to the risk of political misuse as it is an ongoing investigation and trial."

Gyeonggi Province also added, "We would like to inform you that during previous administrative and national audits, we have consistently maintained the principle of refusal for all materials related to ongoing investigations and trials involving former Vice Governor Ihwa-Young and former Governor Lee Jae-myung for the same reasons."