Kim Yong: "Presidential Primary Expenses Covered by Personal Funds or Contributions Without Lee Jae-myung's Knowledge"

Denial of Lee's Involvement in Political Funds Law Violation Trial

Former Deputy Director Kim Yong of the Democratic Research Institute claimed that Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was unaware of the regional organization efforts he undertook ahead of the last presidential primary. He also testified that the costs necessary for such preparations were covered by personal funds or contributions from participants.

On the 4th, Kim appeared as a witness at a trial for violations of the Political Funds Act held before the Criminal Division 23 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu) and once again denied the charges against him. Kim was indicted on charges of receiving 847 million KRW under the pretext of presidential campaign funds between April and August 2021, around the time of the Democratic Party’s preliminary presidential primary. At that time, as the general deputy head of Lee’s campaign, he reportedly requested about 2 billion KRW for presidential campaign funds from former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Director Yoo Dong-gyu, allegedly saying he was "circulating around the Gwangju area," according to the prosecution’s investigation.

Kim Yong, former Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute

The prosecution presented seized documents indicating that around October 2020, when Lee’s acquittal on charges of false statements under the Public Official Election Act was confirmed, Kim attended eight meetings in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, each consisting of 40 to 60 people, and questioned where the expenses for these activities were sourced. Kim responded, "I did go down there, but it was not actually eight meetings, and the costs were shared among us," adding, "There were no expenses for (organizational operations) either."

The prosecution pointed out again that there were no records of credit card usage for meals, lodging, or fuel expenses at that time, but Kim replied, "Even if I tried to pay for lodging, there were often offers to stay over." He emphasized that Lee, who was then governor of Gyeonggi Province, was completely unaware of these activities. He stated, "There was absolutely no reporting. The governor’s Public Official Election Act provisions are extremely important," and added, "I can engage in political activities as a private individual, so how could I report such things? It was done secretly."

The prosecution also presented report documents titled 'Myeong Camp Organization Plan' and '21st Century Communication Platform Organization Composition and Activity Plan,' but Kim said he neither wrote them nor knew or remembered who did. When shown documents containing the names of meeting attendees, including himself, he said, "We didn’t gather for meetings; these were general election-related conversations over coffee or meals that were summarized."

Regarding Kim’s attitude, the court cautioned, "These are confidential documents, and judging by their format, they are official documents," adding, "It doesn’t seem like just casual conversations, so please provide detailed recollections." Concerning contents recorded as Kim’s statements in the documents, such as "Abandon existing notions and complete the organization with an expandable structure," and "Build a tight framework centered on the public organization to achieve results for securing party members," Kim replied, "I don’t recall specifics at the time, but I do not deny having said those things." He emphasized that these were not instructions from Lee.

The prosecution pointed out, "According to the defendant’s testimony, these were not reports, yet they are titled 'Report,' and although he never visited eight regions, it is recorded as if he went to encourage them," and asked, "Why have you kept these documents if their form and content differ from reality?" Kim responded, "There are about 1,480 files, and I cannot distinguish which are important or not. These were precious people who united their hearts during the presidential campaign, so I couldn’t throw them away and kept them."

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