Kim Yong Denies Charges at First Trial... Criticizes "Prosecutorial Power Abuse"

Ahead of the 20th presidential election, Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, who was arrested and indicted on charges of receiving illegal election funds from private operators of the Daejang-dong project, denied all charges in the first trial.

Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, considered a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was prosecuted on charges of receiving illegal campaign funds during the 20th presidential election.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 7th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu) held the first trial for four defendants indicted on charges of violating the Political Funds Act: former deputy director Kim, former planning director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Yoo Dong-gyu, lawyer Jeong Min-yong who served as the corporation’s strategic business director, and lawyer Nam Wook, a developer of the Daejang-dong project.

In court, Kim’s defense team denied the charges, stating, "There is no fact that he received 600 million KRW, nor that he demanded 2 billion KRW." The defense also argued, as they did in the previous preparatory hearing, that the prosecution excessively detailed the factual premises in the indictment, violating the 'principle of indictment formality.' The principle of indictment formality means that the prosecution must submit an indictment containing only the facts of the crime at the charging stage and must not attach or cite documents or evidence that could lead to prejudgment.

The defense counsel said, "Reading the prosecution’s indictment reminded me of past National Security Law cases investigated by the Agency for National Security Planning," adding, "Of the total 20 pages of the initial indictment, 10 pages are about Daejang-dong, and the criminal facts occupy only 56 lines out of 391 lines."

They also pointed out that the criminal facts were not specified precisely. The indictment does not concretely state when and where Kim received the money, only mentioning vague timeframes such as "April 2021" and "early June 2021," making it difficult to exercise the right to defense.

The defense added, "The only evidence is Yoo Dong-gyu’s testimony, and there is no objective evidence at all," and "We must consider the credibility of the witness, but Yoo initially claimed not to know who owned the 70 billion KRW profit distribution from Daejang-dong, and only recently said it belonged to Lee Jae-myung."

Given the opportunity to speak, former deputy director Kim said, "I think this indictment is absurd," and "I feel deeply wronged as I watch the proceedings. I have nothing to say seeing the abuse of prosecutorial power." Regarding the report on Rep. Jeong Seong-ho’s 'visits to Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong,' he criticized, "A member of the National Assembly, who is a close acquaintance of mine, came under the supervision of a prison officer. The prosecution leaked a few words of consolation to the media. This is the current state of the prosecution in the Republic of Korea."

On that day, the presiding judge requested the prosecution, saying, "Even if selectively, the witness examination should be conducted indicating that the money was received on this or that day so that the defense can exercise their rights," and "The approximate dates should be practically presented so that the dispute can proceed. It would be good if you review this part."

Kim was indicted last November while in custody on charges of colluding with former director Yoo and lawyer Jeong between April and August last year, around the time of the Democratic Party’s presidential primary, to receive 847 million KRW in four installments from lawyer Nam as presidential election funds. He served as the overall deputy director of Lee’s campaign, responsible for fundraising and organizational management. In February 2021, he reportedly asked Yoo for about 2 billion KRW for presidential election funds, saying he was "circulating around Gwangju," and according to the prosecution, Nam sent the money through Jeong and Yoo after receiving this request. The prosecution believes that Yoo spent 100 million KRW of the money Nam gave and did not deliver 147 million KRW, so the actual amount Kim received is judged to be 600 million KRW.

Meanwhile, the other three defendants, excluding Kim, have stated that they acknowledge the basic facts of the indictment.

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