Kim Yong Sentenced to 5 Years:
"Alter Ego's Crime Is Lee Jae-myung's Crime"
"Crimes Do Not Disappear Even If He Avoids Trial"
On the 7th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying he "shows extreme shamelessness by claiming innocence while aiming to become president." This was in reference to the appellate court ruling on Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and a close aide to Lee, stating, "The crimes of Lee Jae-myung's alter ego are essentially Lee Jae-myung's crimes."
Mayor Oh stated on Facebook that afternoon, "Kim Yong, whom Lee Jae-myung called 'my alter ego,' was sentenced to five years in prison again in the second trial and was taken into custody. This once again confirms the illegal funds exchanged by Lee Jae-myung's alter ego during the presidential primary process."
In particular, Mayor Oh explained, "The name 'Lee Jae-myung' appears 130 times in the verdict of this case," adding, "It has become clearer who is at the center of this case." He continued, "However, this is only a part of a massive crime," and added, "The election law violation charges, which are progressing the fastest and attracting attention, are only a very small portion of the overall allegations."
Referring to trials surrounding Lee, such as the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong development favors and the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, he emphasized, "Trials concerning even greater crimes are underway," and said, "These crimes involve development corruption, ties to organized crime, and even strategic use of North Korea, each of which is absolutely unacceptable for a public official."
He further criticized, saying, "Although key aides have already been sentenced to prison, the main figure shamelessly claims innocence and aims to become president," and added, "The scene where this major criminal defendant is revered as the 'father of the Democratic Party' and his fervent fandom follows him is a sad comedy."
Mayor Oh said, "Even if one closes their eyes and ears and pretends not to know, and tries every trick to avoid trial, the crimes do not disappear," and stated, "The Democratic Party, which has turned the Republic of Korea's main opposition party into Lee Jae-myung's personal 'bulletproof party' backed by fanatic supporters' madness, should now be disbanded."
Meanwhile, on the 6th, the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court sentenced former deputy director Kim to five years in prison, a fine of 70 million won, and a confiscation of 670 million won, the same as in the first trial, on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
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