Prosecutors Secure Statement Claiming "Kim Yong's Side Requested False Testimony in Trial"

The prosecution investigating perjury allegations that arose during the trial of former Deputy Director Kim Yong of the Democratic Research Institute has obtained a statement from the witness confirming that "the false testimony was indeed given."

Kim Yong, Former Vice President of the Democratic Research Institute [Image Source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 25th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baeksin) recently investigated Lee, former Director of the Gyeonggi-do Market Promotion Agency (64), as a suspect and received a statement in which he confessed to the charges. Lee reportedly said that he committed perjury "at the request of former Deputy Director Kim's side." It is also known that he revealed the photo of the calendar on his mobile phone, which he submitted to the court to support his testimony, was forged.

During the trial, when the timing of former Deputy Director Kim's illegal fund receipt was pinpointed to May 3, 2021, the prosecution suspects that Seo and Park, former situation room chiefs of the presidential campaign, conspired to commit perjury to exonerate former Deputy Director Kim. The prosecution's view is that they used Lee's lawyer, Attorney Lee, who is also former Deputy Director Kim's defense counsel, as a 'channel' to avoid the appearance of party-level involvement if they contacted Lee directly.

In fact, during the trial on May 4, the prosecution questioned Lee, who appeared as a witness, about the process of receiving contact related to his testimony from Attorney Lee. At that time, Lee said, "On May 3, 2021, between 3 and 4 p.m., I met former Deputy Director Kim at his office in the Suwon Convention Center in Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss work," providing an 'alibi' that could undermine the allegations of fund receipt against former Deputy Director Kim.

This is because the prosecution had identified the time when former Deputy Director Kim allegedly received 10 million won in illegal presidential campaign funds from former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Director Yoo Dong-gyu at the Yuwon Holdings office in Pangyo-dong, Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province. If the testimony is true, former Deputy Director Kim was elsewhere and could be cleared of the charges. The prosecution conducted an investigation into perjury charges, stating that Lee's claims contradict the evidence obtained so far.

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