'Democratic Party Money Envelope' Heo Jong-sik and Former and Current Lawmakers, First Trial Verdict Today

The first trial verdict for current and former Democratic Party members, including Representative Heo Jong-sik, who were prosecuted on charges of exchanging money envelopes ahead of the 2021 Democratic Party convention, will be delivered on the 30th.

Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea (Photo by Yonhap News)

According to the legal community, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Chief Judge Woo In-seong) is scheduled to hold the first trial verdict session on the afternoon of that day for Representative Heo, who was prosecuted for violating the Political Parties Act, as well as former Representatives Lim Jong-sung and Yoon Kwan-seok, and former independent Representative Lee Seong-man, who is charged with violating the Political Funds Act. This comes about six months after the indictment in February.

They were indicted on charges of exchanging three money envelopes, each containing 3 million won, at a meeting of lawmakers supporting former leader Song held on April 28, 2021, in the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee small conference room in the National Assembly main building. Additionally, former Representative Lee is accused of giving a total of 11 million won in two installments to election campaign workers, including former leader Song, around March 2021.

At the sentencing hearing held last month, the prosecution requested prison sentences for all indicted current and former lawmakers. For Representatives Heo and Lim, who are accused of receiving money envelopes containing 3 million won, the prosecution requested one year of imprisonment each. If Representative Heo, who is currently serving, is confirmed to receive a prison sentence of imprisonment or higher (including suspended sentences) during his term, he will lose his seat according to current laws and related regulations. For former Representative Lee, the prosecution requested a total of two years and six months in prison: one year and six months for the political fund provision charge and one year for the receipt charge.

The prosecution also requested one year of imprisonment for former Representative Yoon, who is accused of distributing money envelopes. Former Representative Yoon was separately indicted on charges of receiving 60 million won from campaign workers with the intent to distribute money envelopes to incumbent lawmakers and has already been sentenced to two years in prison in the first and second trials and is currently imprisoned while undergoing trial. The verdict on this day concerns additional charges of violating the Political Parties Act.

At the time, the prosecution stated the reason for the sentencing request, saying, "They neglected their duty of integrity as members of the National Assembly and their responsibility to uphold constitutional values, influenced the outcome by ensuring former leader Song Young-gil’s election, and yet consistently offered unacceptable excuses without showing remorse."