'Ehwahyeong with Billions in Bribery Charges from Ssangbangwool, First Trial on 28th'

Lee Hwa-young, CEO of Kintex (former Deputy Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province), who is accused of receiving bribes worth hundreds of millions of won from Ssangbangwool Group, is entering the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office building on the morning of the 27th of last month to attend the pre-arrest warrant hearing (pre-arrest suspect interrogation) held at the Suwon District Court in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The first trial of former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwayoung, who was indicted on charges of receiving bribes worth hundreds of millions of won from Ssangbangwool Group in exchange for supporting inter-Korean economic cooperation projects, will be held on the 28th.

According to the legal community on the 19th, the Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Shin Jinwoo) will hold the first preparatory hearing for Lee’s case involving bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violations of the Political Funds Act at 11 a.m. on the 28th. The preparatory hearing is a procedure to hear opinions from both the prosecution and defense and to decide on evidence admission and other proof plans, and the defendant is not required to attend.

The preparatory hearing for Mr. A, the vice chairman of Ssangbangwool who was indicted on charges of giving bribes (bribery offering, violation of the Political Funds Act, evidence destruction, and harboring a criminal), will also be held on the same day.

Previously, Lee was indicted on charges of receiving illegal political funds amounting to 320 million won from Ssangbangwool Group between July 2018 and July 2022 through methods such as the use of corporate cards and vehicles provided by the group and false salary payments to his associates.

Among these, the prosecution judged that 260 million won in money and goods received by Lee from August 2018 to January 2020, when he served as deputy governor, and from September 2020 to early this year, when he was the CEO of KINTEX, were related to his official duties and thus constituted bribes.

The prosecution believes that Lee received illegal political funds and supported Ssangbangwool’s inter-Korean economic cooperation projects. In January and May 2019, Ssangbangwool signed agreements related to economic cooperation projects in Shenyang, China, with North Korea’s Chosun Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and the Federation of National Economic Cooperation (Min-gyeongryeon). Subsequently, Ssangbangwool affiliates were granted business rights to minerals including rare earths in North Korea, and the prosecution’s view is that Lee was present during these agreement processes.

The prosecution is also investigating allegations that in 2019 Ssangbangwool illegally transferred tens of billions of won worth of US dollars to China by mobilizing dozens of employees from the group and its affiliates (violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and property concealment abroad). They are examining circumstances suggesting that this money flowed into North Korea through Chairman Ahn of the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association (APPEA). Additionally, they are investigating whether Lee and Ssangbangwool Vice Chairman A were involved in the large-scale dollar smuggling.

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