Police Investigate Bang Yong-cheol, Ssangbangwool Vice Chairman, on Charges of Violating National Security Law

Regarding the suspicion of 'Ssangbangwool's remittance to North Korea,' the police conducted an investigation on Bang Yong-cheol, the vice chairman of Ssangbangwool, who is accused of violating the National Security Act.

Former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Sung-tae [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 7th, the Advanced Security Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they visited Suwon Detention Center last month to conduct a meeting investigation with Vice Chairman Bang, who is currently incarcerated on charges of violating the National Security Act.

The 'Ssangbangwool remittance to North Korea suspicion' involves former Chairman Kim allegedly paying a total of 8 million dollars to North Korea, including 5 million dollars for the Gyeonggi-do Smart Farm project and 3 million dollars for then-Governor Lee Jae-myung's visit to North Korea, at the request of former Gyeonggi-do Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young since 2019. In this process, he is also accused of meeting Kim Seong-hye, a member of the North Korean Committee for Asia-Pacific Peace, without reporting, to promote inter-Korean business.

The police plan to investigate former Chairman Kim soon. Meanwhile, former Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young was indicted on October 14 last year on charges of accepting bribes from the Ssangbangwool Group and involvement in remittances to North Korea, and has been on trial since then.

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