'Lee Jae-myung Associate' Kim Yong Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Illegal Fund Receipt in Second Trial

Lawyer Nam Wook, a private businessman in the Daejang-dong case, also sentenced to 8 months in prison
Yoo Dong-gyu and others acquitted

Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was prosecuted for receiving money and valuables from the Daejang-dong group, was sentenced to imprisonment again and re-arrested in the appellate trial.

Former Deputy Director Kim Yong of the Democratic Research Institute attending the second trial sentencing hearing. Photo by Yonhap News

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judges Baek Gang-jin, Kim Seon-hee, Lee In-su) on the 6th sentenced Kim, who was indicted for violating the Political Funds Act and bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to five years in prison, a fine of 70 million won, and a fine of 670 million won, the same as in the first trial.

Kim is accused of conspiring with former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation director Yoo Dong-gyu and lawyer Jeong Min-yong from April to August 2021, around the time of the party's presidential primary, to receive 847 million won in four installments from private businessman lawyer Nam Wook under the pretext of presidential campaign funds.

Among this amount, 600 million won was delivered to Kim, while the remaining 247 million won was investigated to have not been delivered to Kim by former director Yoo.

Kim is also accused of receiving a total of 190 million won in four installments from former director Yoo from February 2013 to April 2014 while serving as a standing member of the Seongnam City Council's Urban Construction Committee, in exchange for facilitating the establishment of the corporation and the Daejang-dong development project.

The court canceled Kim's bail granted during the appellate trial due to the prison sentence and re-arrested him in court.

Lawyer Nam was also sentenced to eight months in prison, the same as in the first trial, but was not taken into custody. Former director Yoo and lawyer Jeong were acquitted, as in the first trial.