Prosecutors Conduct Search and Seizure at 'Northeast Asia Peace and Economy Association' Founded by Lee Hwa-young... Related to Ssangbangwool Suspicion

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution, investigating the bribery case related to Ssangbangwool Group, has once again launched a forced investigation by conducting a search and seizure of the 'Northeast Asia Peace and Economic Cooperation Association' established by former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young.

The Criminal Division 6 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam) sent prosecutors and investigators to the office of the Northeast Asia Peace and Economic Cooperation Association located in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 6th to secure related materials.

The prosecution is looking into allegations that former Deputy Governor Lee received bribes worth hundreds of millions of won from Ssangbangwool Group in exchange for assisting North-South economic cooperation projects. This search and seizure appears to be related to this matter. The Northeast Asia Peace and Economic Cooperation Association was established by former Deputy Governor Lee in 2008. Its main projects include economic cooperation and policy research related to Northeast Asia. He served as chairman of the organization until his appointment as deputy governor (August 2018 to January 2020). The organization also held a 'North Korean Mineral Resources Development Forum' with the Korea Resources Corporation at the National Assembly on October 24, 2018.

Former Deputy Governor Lee was arrested on the 28th of last month on charges of receiving bribes totaling about 250 million won, including corporate credit cards and three foreign cars, from Ssangbangwool in return for assisting Ssangbangwool and North Korea's Chosun Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and the Federation of National Economic Cooperation (Min-gyeong-ryeon) in drafting an economic cooperation agreement in Shenyang, China, in January and May 2019. He is also charged with falsely registering an associate as a Ssangbangwool employee to receive about 90 million won in wages. Ssangbangwool Vice Chairman A, who is accused of giving bribes to former Deputy Governor Lee, was also arrested together.

On the morning of the same day, the prosecution also secured PC data from the office of B Team Leader of the Public Institution Affairs Office at Gyeonggi Provincial Government, who served as former Deputy Governor Lee's secretary.

In addition, the prosecution is investigating suspicions that Ssangbangwool sponsored several hundred million won in expenses for the 'International Conference for Peace and Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific' events consecutively hosted by Gyeonggi Province and the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and the Philippines from 2018 to 2019.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.