It has been revealed that the verdict document of the Democratic Party of Korea's party convention money envelope incident explicitly listed the real names of 10 current and former lawmakers suspected of receiving money envelopes.
According to the legal community on the 25th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Chief Judge Woo In-seong) included the list of 11 attendees at a meeting of lawmakers supporting former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil, held on April 28, 2021, in the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's small conference room, in the first trial verdict for former lawmaker Yoon and others on charges of violating the Political Parties Act. The number includes former lawmaker Yoon, who is identified as the 'distributor.'
The court found former lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok, Lee Seong-man, Lim Jong-seong, and current lawmaker Heo Jong-sik guilty of distributing and receiving money envelopes, and acknowledged that seven others were present at the location where the money envelopes were distributed. The attendees listed in the verdict include Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Young-ho, Min Byung-duk, Park Sung-joon, Baek Hye-ryun, Jeon Yong-gi, former lawmaker Park Young-soon, and Jo Guk Innovation Party lawmaker Hwang Un-ha.
The court presented phone call records between former lawmaker Yoon and Lee Jeong-geun, who served as the Democratic Party's deputy secretary-general, as evidence that the money envelopes were delivered.
Furthermore, based on expressions in conversations and National Assembly entry records, the court ruled, "It is highly likely that Yoon Kwan-seok provided money envelopes to lawmakers gathered in one place," and "Among Yoon Kwan-seok's schedule on that day, the only occasion where multiple lawmakers gathered at once was this National Assembly lawmakers' meeting."
The court also rejected the claim that it was difficult to distribute money envelopes in a public place, stating, "Considering that the attendees were limited to lawmakers supporting Song Young-gil, their aides, and staff members from Song Young-gil's office, there were circumstances of somewhat public operation, so it is hard to conclude that the provision and receipt of money envelopes could not have occurred at the lawmakers' meeting."
The court did not make individual judgments regarding whether other attendees received money envelopes. However, the legal community views it as somewhat unusual that the entire list of attendees was included in the verdict while acknowledging that money envelopes were distributed at the meeting. There is an analysis suggesting that the court may have implied the possibility of other attendees receiving money envelopes to some extent.
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