'Donbongtu' Kang Raegu's First Trial: "Many Lies... Need to See Entire 'Lee Junggeun Recording'"

Former Korea Water Resources Corporation Standing Auditor Kang Raegu, who was indicted over the Democratic Party of Korea's 'party convention money envelope suspicion,' claimed during his first trial that the so-called 'Lee Jeonggeun recording' needs to be heard in full context.

On the 29th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-2 (Presiding Judges Kim Jeonggon, Kim Mikyung, Heo Gyeongmu) held the first trial of former Auditor Kang, who was indicted on charges including violation of the Political Parties Act.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, former Auditor Kang said, "I spoke casually with (Lee Jeonggeun) two years ago, so I don't remember clearly, but during the investigation stage, some parts were cut and arranged," adding, "There can be many lies in private calls, but these can become facts in the investigation." The phone call recordings between former Auditor Kang and former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jeonggeun, obtained by the prosecution, revealed multiple indications of money envelope distribution and that former Democratic Party leader Song Younggil appeared to have been aware of it. Former Deputy Secretary-General Lee is known to have said in the call that former leader Song was aware that former Auditor Kang had spent money.

Kang's defense team requested, "The recording files we reviewed mainly correspond to or are directly related to the charges. To understand the full context, the entire recording files should be submitted." The prosecution responded, "The same claim was made during the investigation, and unrelated recordings were provided without omission, so it is difficult to know how far to go if asked to submit more," adding, "If the defendant was the conversation partner, he would know best and could reasonably explain and specify based on that experience, so we are willing to consider it," but also said, "However, since the related case is currently under investigation, it is burdensome to present content unrelated to the charges in the trial," and "there is also the issue of exposing the privacy of the conversation partner."

The court said, "During the trial, if the submitted recordings are listened to and cannot be specified, the prosecution must prove it, so it is sufficient to search for and submit additional recordings," adding, "There is no need to review the vast recordings in court." The court also addressed the cases of independent lawmaker Yoon Gwansuk and Park Yongsu, a former aide to former leader Song, stating, "Since the charges against lawmaker Yoon completely overlap with those against former Auditor Kang, we plan to consolidate and proceed simultaneously during witness examination," and "Park has many parts that do not overlap, and only common witnesses such as Lee Jeonggeun exist, so we intend to conduct parallel hearings during witness examination."

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