The 'Money Envelope' Case with Extensive Evidence... Han Dong-hoon's Statement Draws Attention Again

Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, explained the necessity of detaining independent lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Sung-man, who have been identified as key suspects in the Democratic Party's 'party convention money envelope scandal,' in front of members of the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 12th. The political and legal circles are once again paying close attention to his remarks. In particular, there is keen interest in how much of the investigation details and evidence related to this case Minister Han will disclose.

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Minister Han attended the government questioning session held at the National Assembly from 2 p.m. that day to explain the case and the reasons for requesting the arrest consent before the vote on the arrest consent motion for Lawmakers Yoon and Lee took place. After Minister Han's explanation, Lawmakers Yoon and Lee will present their positions.

Since the Ministry of Justice submitted the request for arrest consent for Lawmakers Yoon and Lee to the National Assembly on the 26th of last month, Minister Han reviewed the investigation details related to the money envelope scandal received from the prosecution. Given the involvement of many individuals and the large amount of evidence secured by the prosecution, the report was reportedly substantial. Even within and outside the prosecution, there have been many remarks that "the investigation proceeded smoothly due to the vast amount of evidence." The approximately 30,000 recorded phone conversations from former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jung-geun played a decisive role in revealing the full story of the case from the early stages of the investigation, and former Korea Water Resources Corporation Standing Auditor Kang Rae-gu and others testified about some of the circumstances under which the money envelopes were procured. Based on such evidence, the prosecution identified incumbent lawmakers suspected of receiving the money envelopes and conducted a search and seizure of the National Assembly Secretariat, securing access records for 29 lawmakers' offices.

Meanwhile, there is a possibility that Minister Han will disclose new evidence details at the National Assembly. Revealing some parts of the previously undisclosed 'Lee Jung-geun recorded files' and key contents from the access records of the 29 lawmakers' offices is expected to cause significant repercussions. Previously, on December 28 of last year, before the vote on the arrest consent motion for Democratic Party lawmaker Roh Woong-rae, Minister Han mentioned a recorded file of Roh receiving money on-site, stating, "(Lawmaker Roh) was recorded saying, 'You gave me some before, why are you giving me more?' and 'I have been using what you gave me well,' along with the sound of the money envelope rustling." Minister Han is expected to convey similar content regarding the money envelope scandal, emphasizing the prosecution's stance that this is a "serious matter that destroys democracy," and urge the approval of the arrest consent motion.

The arrest consent motion for lawmakers is passed if a majority of the total members are present and a majority of those present vote in favor. Once passed, the Seoul Central District Court immediately schedules a pretrial detention hearing (warrant review) for Lawmakers Yoon and Lee, where it reviews and decides whether to issue arrest warrants.

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