Remittance to North Korea Unclear
Possible Links to Gambling Funds Suggested
Park Sunwon, a member of the Democratic Party and secretary of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, stated, "The National Intelligence Service was unable to confirm any connection between former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Sungtae and President Lee Jaemyung."
Sungbum Shin, Chairman of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee (right), is talking with the ruling and opposition party secretaries during the 2025 National Audit held at the National Intelligence Service in Seocho-gu, Seoul on November 4. From the left, Seongwon Lee, member of the People Power Party, Seonwon Park, member of the Democratic Party, and Chairman Shin. November 4, 2025. Photo by Hyunmin Kim
On November 4, after a closed-door audit of the Intelligence Committee at the National Intelligence Service headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Assemblyman Park met with reporters and said, "According to the National Intelligence Service's own special audit, the flow of funds that former Chairman Kim claimed to have remitted to North Korea is unclear, and some of the money appears to be linked to gambling funds."
He explained, "It was confirmed that former Chairman Kim engaged in high-stakes gambling at casinos in the Philippines and incurred debts amounting to several billion won. While the remittance to North Korea was said to be for the construction of a smart farm in Gyeonggi Province, the farm that was supposed to be built in Hwanghae Province did not actually exist."
Assemblyman Park continued, "The National Intelligence Service hired a prosecutorial investigator close to former President Yoon Sukyeol as an inspection investigator in 2022 and conducted a focused investigation into the relationship between former Chairman Kim and then-Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jaemyung, but found no connection. However, I understand that former Secretary for Civil Service Discipline Lee Siwon overturned this conclusion and instructed the prosecution to 'accelerate the investigation,' leading to the subsequent prosecutorial probe."
He added, "There was no indication anywhere that funds were transferred to North Korea during President Lee's tenure as Gyeonggi Governor. The National Intelligence Service also pointed out that at the time, the head of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau operating in Southeast Asia had been arrested in the United States, making it impossible for Ri Honam to enter the Philippines."
Previously, former Chairman Kim Sungtae testified in court that he had 'personally met North Korean operative Ri Honam in the Philippines,' but the National Intelligence Service denied this claim, stating that 'no such circumstances were confirmed.'
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
