Lee Hwa-young's side weighs retrial in Ssangbangwool N.K. remittance case
In short
Lawyers for Lee Hwa-young, the former Gyeonggi Province vice governor for peace whose sentence in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case was finalized by the Supreme Court in June last year, said on Oct. 5 that they are actively discussing a request for a retrial. They cite National Intelligence Service documents that were not submitted as evidence, a disciplinary case against the prosecutor who handled the investigation, and an ongoing investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. Prosecutor Park Sang-yong denies any wrongdoing, saying he submitted the documents and the court found them unreliable.
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Lawyers for Lee Hwa-young, the former Gyeonggi Province vice governor for peace, said on Oct. 5 that they are actively discussing a request for a retrial of his finalized conviction in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case. A lawyer for Lee told Yonhap by phone that the defense was “actively discussing” the request, citing a National Intelligence Service document not submitted as evidence at trial and possible procedural violations raised in the disciplinary process of the prosecutor who handled the case. The defense also pointed to the ongoing investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
The Supreme Court finalized the sentence in June last year: seven years and eight months in prison — seven years for bribery and Foreign Exchange Transactions Act violations and eight months for a Political Funds Act violation — plus a 250 million won fine and 325.95 million won in forfeiture. The Seoul Economic Daily reported that Lee was indicted for receiving about 334 million won in political funds and bribes from the Ssangbangwool Group between July 2018 and July 2022, and for conspiring in an $8 million remittance to the North. The Dong-A Ilbo reported that the sum covered $5 million for Gyeonggi Province's “North Korea smart farm improvement” project and $3 million for the North Korea visit costs of then-Gyeonggi governor Lee Jae-myung, now president, paid instead by former Ssangbangwool chairman Kim Seong-tae. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
The documents at issue date to an April National Assembly committee investigation into alleged politically motivated prosecutions, where NIS director Lee Jong-seok said the NIS under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration submitted only part of its North Korea remittance-related reports to prosecutors, and that documents not put before the court — including intelligence that Kim Seong-tae and others sought stock manipulation using the North Korea business as a pretext — had been found. Newsis carried a photo caption saying Park and Lee Hwa-young attended a committee hearing at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on April 14. Park denies the claim, saying he submitted a document suggesting possible stock manipulation by Ssangbangwool alone and that the court rejected it as unreliable. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Park, who investigated the case at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, is under disciplinary proceedings at the Ministry of Justice over alleged rule violations. In an Oct. 1 Facebook post he said a disciplinary committee meeting set for Sept. 30 was postponed to early October with no notice to him, and claimed the discipline was meant to damage the legitimacy of the indictment and to create grounds to pardon Lee. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
Lee's side said a special pardon is a separate procedure and that it could not delay a retrial while the pardon's outcome is uncertain. Lee is separately on trial in the first instance on a third-party bribery charge over the payment of then-governor Lee Jae-myung's North Korea visit costs. [ 1 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The case reaches the presidency: one document says part of the $8 million remittance covered the North Korea visit costs of then-Gyeonggi governor Lee Jae-myung, now president, and Lee Hwa-young faces a separate first-instance trial on a third-party bribery charge over those costs. The retrial push also follows a National Assembly investigation into alleged politically motivated prosecution, and the dispute between the defense and the prosecutor over unsubmitted intelligence documents has become part of that wider political argument.
Key facts
- Lee Hwa-young's side said on Oct. 5 that it is actively discussing a request for a retrial of his finalized conviction in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The Supreme Court finalized a sentence of seven years and eight months in prison, a fine of 250 million won and a forfeiture of 325.95 million won. [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]
- The defense cites National Intelligence Service documents that were not submitted as evidence at trial as a possible ground for retrial. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The defense also cites possible procedural violations in the disciplinary process of prosecutor Park Sang-yong and the ongoing investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
- NIS director Lee Jong-seok told a National Assembly investigation in April that the NIS under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration submitted only part of its North Korea remittance-related reports to prosecutors. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
- Prosecutor Park Sang-yong denies the claim, saying he submitted the documents to the court and they were rejected as unreliable, and he is under Ministry of Justice disciplinary proceedings. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
- The $8 million remittance covered $5 million for Gyeonggi Province's “North Korea smart farm improvement” project and $3 million for the North Korea visit costs of then-Gyeonggi governor Lee Jae-myung, paid instead by former Ssangbangwool chairman Kim Seong-tae, according to the Dong-A Ilbo. [ 6 ]
- Lee is separately on trial in the first instance on a charge of third-party bribery over the payment of then-governor Lee Jae-myung's North Korea visit costs. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Lee Hwa-young's side said on Oct. 5 that it is actively discussing a request for a retrial of his finalized conviction in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The Supreme Court finalized a prison term of seven years and eight months, a fine of 250 million won and a forfeiture of 325.95 million won. [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]
- The defense cites National Intelligence Service documents not submitted as evidence at trial as a possible ground for retrial. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The defense also cites possible procedural violations in prosecutor Park Sang-yong's disciplinary process and the ongoing Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials investigation. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
- NIS director Lee Jong-seok told a National Assembly investigation in April that the NIS under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration submitted only part of its North Korea remittance-related reports to prosecutors. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
- Prosecutor Park Sang-yong denies the claim and says the documents were submitted to the court, which found them unreliable; he is under Ministry of Justice disciplinary proceedings. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- Whether a retrial request will actually be filed, and when. The defense said on Oct. 5 that it is actively discussing the request; no document says a filing has been made or gives a date.
- Whether the unsubmitted NIS documents and the prosecutor's disciplinary case legally qualify as grounds for retrial. The defense says they can be grounds, while prosecutor Park Sang-yong denies the documents were withheld; no document reports a court ruling on the retrial question.
- Why the disciplinary committee meeting was postponed and when it will be held. Only Park's Oct. 1 Facebook post is cited, in which he says a meeting set for Sept. 30 was moved to early October and that he had received no notice.
- Park's claim that the disciplinary action is intended to damage the indictment's legitimacy and create grounds for a pardon of Lee Hwa-young. The claim is attributed to Park alone, in a Facebook post, and no other document supports it.
- Whether Lee Hwa-young will receive a special pardon. His side calls it a separate procedure with an uncertain outcome; no document says a pardon is being prepared.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Supreme Court finalizes Lee Hwa-young's sentence of seven years and eight months in prison, a fine of 250 million won and a forfeiture of 325.95 million won. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- NIS director Lee Jong-seok tells a National Assembly investigation that the NIS under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration submitted only part of its North Korea remittance-related reports to prosecutors. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
- Prosecutor Park Sang-yong and Lee Hwa-young attend a hearing of the National Assembly special committee on alleged politically motivated prosecution at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. [ 3 ]
- Prosecutor Park Sang-yong says on Facebook that a disciplinary committee meeting set for Sept. 30 was postponed to early October and that he had received no notice, claiming the discipline is meant to damage the indictment's legitimacy and create grounds to pardon Lee Hwa-young. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap reports that Lee Hwa-young's side is considering a retrial, quoting his lawyer as saying the request is under active discussion. [ 1 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports that the defense is reviewing a retrial request, citing the NIS documents. [ 6 ]