In the trial of former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young, who was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial for charges including illegal remittances to North Korea, three individuals including the former Director of the Gyeonggi Peace Cooperation Bureau, Lee’s private personal secretary, and his personal driver were prosecuted for perjury.
On the 10th, the Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Seo Hyun-wook) indicted three people without detention on charges of perjury during Lee’s first trial: Shin Myung-seop, former Director of the Gyeonggi Peace Cooperation Bureau (61, male), Moon (49, female), Lee’s private personal secretary, and Jin (39, male), former driver for the CEO of Kintex.
According to the prosecution, Shin is accused of perjury for falsely stating that he did not know that a businessman who attended the agreement ceremony and dinner with North Korean officials held in Shenyang, China in January 2019 was the actual owner of Ssangbangwool Group.
Moon is accused of perjury for falsely testifying that she never worked as Lee’s private personal secretary and that she was directly handed a corporate card by Ssangbangwool Group to use. Jin is accused of perjury for falsely stating that he never worked as Lee’s private personal driver.
The prosecution stated that between February and March of last year, these individuals appeared as witnesses in Lee’s trial and took an oath acknowledging that perjury would be punishable, yet they gave testimony contrary to their memories to protect Lee.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office said, "The defendants, with the wrongful intent to help Lee avoid criminal punishment, repeatedly lied in the solemn courtroom despite having sworn to face punishment for perjury, thereby attempting to obstruct justice by influencing the court’s judgment. They committed perjury recklessly, ignoring objective evidence and common sense."
Shin attended the agreement ceremony and dinner with North Korean officials held in Shenyang, China in January 2019 alongside Lee to support and guarantee Ssangbangwool Group’s North Korea-related business. Although he knew that a businessman present was the actual owner of Ssangbangwool Group, he is accused of perjury for testifying in court that he did not attend the ceremony with Ssangbangwool Group and did not know the businessman at the dinner was the actual owner.
Despite being shown photos in court of himself, Lee, Ssangbangwool Group executives, and North Korean officials at meetings and dinners, Shin repeatedly perjured himself by claiming he did not know the Ssangbangwool Group executives. The prosecution found that although he sat next to former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae on the plane and traveled in the same vehicle in Shenyang, China, he perjured himself by claiming he did not know who they were.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office said, "Generally, once confronted with clear contradictory evidence, a witness would at least stop maintaining testimony against the evidence. However, Shin blindly repeated lies to protect Lee."
Moon falsely testified that she directly received a corporate card and salary from Ssangbangwool Group but also claimed she never did any work for the group, showing contradictory statements, according to the prosecution.
Jin repeatedly testified that he never worked as Lee’s private personal driver. In contrast, Moon testified that Jin confirmed Lee’s schedule, creating an absurd situation where their testimonies about personally serving Lee contradicted each other, the prosecution said.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office stated, "The defendants, who had a long-standing economic dependency and hierarchical relationship with Lee, lied against the facts and objective evidence to help Lee avoid punishment, ultimately committing additional crimes to conceal the original offenses."
In fact, it is known that these three individuals received economic support from Lee, either by being hired into public office with his help or by being falsely registered as employees at companies established by Lee to receive salaries.
According to the prosecution, Shin worked as the head of the secretariat of a corporation established by Lee or served as Director of the Gyeonggi Peace Cooperation Bureau for about seven years since May 2017, maintaining an economic dependency and hierarchical relationship with Lee.
Moon was falsely registered as an employee at consulting companies established by Lee from 2009 to 2022, receiving salaries, and used about 500 million won in cash received from Lee to pay for a lease deposit, showing economic support from Lee. Notably, she was handed a corporate card from Ssangbangwool Group by Lee, used it, and served as Lee’s private personal secretary for about seven years from 2015, maintaining a thorough economic dependency and hierarchical relationship with Lee.
Jin worked as a personal secretary to Lee when he was a member of the National Assembly from 2007 to 2008, receiving a salary. From August 2018 to September 2022, after failing to be hired as a secretary to the Deputy Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province with Lee’s help, he was falsely registered as an employee at a ready-mix concrete company and received a salary. He was also hired as a secretary to Lee, who was CEO of Kintex, maintaining a hierarchical relationship while depending on Lee for livelihood, the prosecution said.
Lee was additionally indicted on the 18th of last month on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes for causing a ready-mix concrete company in Gyeonggi Province to pay Jin a false salary.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office said, "The defendants repeatedly lied in court to obstruct the discovery of the substantive truth by the court and attempted to mock the criminal justice system. Before the first trial sentencing of Lee, outside the courtroom, they tried to undermine the legitimacy of the prosecution’s investigation and exert undue pressure on the judiciary with baseless false and distorted claims such as 'drinking party inducements' and 'former official lawyer inducements.'"
They added, "The defendants showed an attitude that ‘it is acceptable to lie in court to help Lee avoid punishment,’ and some defendants continued perjury despite repeated warnings from the court that they could be punished for perjury. If the defendants’ perjury is not punished just because Lee was sentenced to a heavy prison term, perjury attempts may recur in future trials related to Lee. Therefore, the defendants must be severely punished to prevent further lies."
Finally, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office stated, "Although continuous obstruction of justice was attempted both inside and outside the courtroom during Lee’s first trial, the court thoroughly explained the related evidence, rejected all defendants’ testimonies, and sentenced Lee to a heavy punishment (9 years and 6 months imprisonment and a fine of 250 million won). We will do our best to maintain the prosecution in future trials against the defendants and in appeals and related trials involving Lee, ensuring punishment according to responsibility. We will strictly punish perjury offenders to establish the principle that ‘truth cannot be concealed by lies, and lies always have consequences.’"
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
