Prosecutors Target Song Young-gil: "Requesting Swift Investigation from Democratic Party... Hope for Cooperation"

The prosecution investigating the Democratic Party of Korea's '2021 Party Convention Money Envelope Suspicion' on the 20th urged former party leader Song Young-gil, who was identified as the final beneficiary of the money distribution, to cooperate with the investigation.

Song Young-gil, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

A Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office official said regarding Song's attitude, "The Democratic Party requested a swift and fair investigation from the investigative authorities. We also hope for active cooperation accordingly."

Song, who is currently staying in Paris, France, virtually did not respond to the Democratic Party leadership's request to return, stating that he would announce his position at a press conference on the 22nd locally. He went to France last December as a visiting research professor at the Paris School of Management (ESCP) and was originally scheduled to return in July.

When asked about the possibility of Song not returning, a prosecution official refrained from commenting, saying, "It is difficult to answer based on the premise of an unheld press conference."

The prosecution is investigating that from March to May 2021, during the Democratic Party convention, Yun Kwan-seok, Lee Sung-man, Democratic Party lawmakers, Kang Rae-gu, standing auditor of Korea Water Resources Corporation, and Lee Jung-geun, former deputy secretary-general of the Democratic Party, conspired to distribute a total of 94 million won within the party to ensure Song's election, focusing the investigation on the donors. Recently, a recorded file was released that could be interpreted as Song himself distributing funds within the party, raising expectations that the scale of the money distribution may be larger.

A prosecution official said, "What has been confirmed during the investigation is 94 million won, but whether that is all or not will be determined after further investigation."

The prosecution dismissed criticisms that this case is a politically motivated investigation targeting the Democratic Party, stating that the circumstances were uncovered during the investigation of Lee's bribery case. The official emphasized, "If evidence reveals clues to a crime, it is naturally the prosecution's duty to investigate and clarify the facts. Asking why we are investigating is unreasonable."

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