'Lee Jae-myung Associate' Kim Yong Released on Bail... "Real-time Location Tracking"

Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will stand trial while out on bail. He was arrested at the end of October last year and released after about six months.

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 4th, the Criminal Division 23 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu) approved Kim’s bail request. The court set conditions including a deposit of 50 million won, a prohibition on evidence tampering, and a pledge to attend the trial.

Kim is prohibited from contacting individuals involved in the case, including through phone calls, text messages, or social networking services (SNS). Indirect contact through third parties is also forbidden.

His residence is restricted, and he must obtain prior approval to move. An electronic device must be attached for real-time location tracking.

Kim is on trial for allegedly conspiring with former head Yoo and lawyer Jung from April to August 2021, around the time of the Democratic Party presidential primary, to receive 847 million won in four installments from lawyer Nam as campaign funds.

The prosecution believes that as the general deputy head of Lee’s campaign, Kim was responsible for fundraising and organizational management. In February 2021, he reportedly told former head Yoo that he was "circulating around Gwangju" and requested about 2 billion won for campaign funds. Lawyer Nam, having received this information via lawyer Jung and former head Yoo, sent the money. Of the money Nam provided, 100 million won was spent by former head Yoo, and 147 million won was not delivered, so the prosecution estimates Kim actually received a total of 600 million won.

Another close aide to Lee, former political coordination officer Jeong Jin-sang, also had his bail request approved under the same conditions on the 21st of last month and is currently standing trial out on bail. Jeong is accused of receiving common stock shares valued at 42.8 billion won from private developers in exchange for granting special favors in the Daejang-dong case.

Among the main defendants involved in the Daejang-dong case, the only person currently detained is Kim Man-bae, known as the "Daejang-dong team lobbyist." Kim was released on November 24 last year after his detention period expired but was re-arrested on February 18 on charges including concealment of criminal proceeds. Kim has also filed a bail request with the court.

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