Hong Nampyo, former mayor of Changwon Special City in South Gyeongsang Province, who was indicted on charges of raising hundreds of millions of won in illegal political funds during the 2022 nationwide local elections, attended the preparatory hearing held on October 20 and completely denied the charges.
The 4th Criminal Division of the Changwon District Court (Presiding Judge Kim In-taek, Judges Kang Woong and Won Boram) held the first preparatory hearing that day for Hong, who was indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, as well as Cho Myungrae, former 2nd Vice Mayor of Changwon City, and two members of Hong’s election campaign, referred to as A and B.
Hong and A and B were present at the hearing, while former Vice Mayor Cho was absent.
Defendants are not required to attend preparatory hearings, which are held to organize the main points of contention and the admissibility of evidence.
Former Changwon Special City Mayor Hong Nampyo is answering questions from reporters before attending the first preparatory hearing related to charges of violating the Political Funds Act. Photo by Lee Seryung
Hong and Cho were indicted on charges of conspiring with A and B to receive a total of 353 million won in illegal political funds from 12 people, including C, under the pretense of election funds ahead of the June 1, 2022 local elections.
B is also accused of paying 42 million won on behalf of Hong’s election campaign for office operation and activity expenses, and of covering 29.56 million won for the office deposit and monthly rent for a group supporting Cho’s National Assembly campaign.
Hong and Cho are both charged with receiving these funds as donations.
On this day, Hong’s legal team submitted a written statement asserting that there was no conspiracy to commit the alleged crimes and that the financial transactions took place without his involvement.
Cho’s legal team also denied all charges in their written statement, claiming there was no conspiracy, that A and B acted independently in receiving the funds, that the actions did not constitute a violation of the Political Funds Act, and that any alleged violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act was based on a delegation contract with plans for subsequent settlement.
A admitted to all the charges, while B stated that he would provide his position after reviewing the case records.
Before attending the trial, Hong told reporters, "I was completely unaware of the suspicions being raised now, and only learned of them after reading the indictment ahead of the trial. I will clarify each issue during the trial process."
He explained, "During the last election, I managed all funds transparently, including deposits and withdrawals, and handed over about 110 million won in accordance with the election law."
Regarding suspicions that he was briefed on how the funds were raised, he said, "I was never briefed on such matters. If there had been anything like that, I would have been informed much earlier."
In response to allegations that he encouraged A to raise funds by handing over 70 million won in profits from a publication event in February 2022, he clarified, "I simply instructed that the proceeds from book sales be given to the event organizer. I only directed that the costs of planning and holding the event be covered, and did not encourage any fundraising."
The court decided to hold an additional preparatory hearing, accepting the defendants’ request for more time to review the prosecution’s investigation records and the case files in detail.
The next preparatory hearing is scheduled for November 17.
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