Ewhayeong, Suspected of Illicit North Korea Remittance, Hires Lawyer for Democratic Party Provincial Assembly Member Kim Kwangmin

Stalemate for Over a Month Due to Issues Including 'Attorney Resignation'

Former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young, who is on trial in connection with the Ssangbangwool Group's alleged illegal remittance to North Korea, has appointed Kim Kwang-min, a lawyer and member of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council from the Democratic Party of Korea, as his defense attorney.

Former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 4th, Lawyer Kim submitted a letter of attorney to the Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Shin Jin-woo) on the same day.

Lawyer Kim is currently representing Mr. A, former Director of the Gyeonggi Peace Cooperation Bureau and a close aide of former Deputy Governor Lee, who is also on trial for involvement in the illegal remittance allegations.

Initially, Lee’s wife, Baek, attempted to hire a private defense attorney, but it was reported that no lawyer was willing to take on the case readily. However, it is known that former Deputy Governor Lee will continue to seek other private defense attorneys while having already appointed Lawyer Kim.

Former Deputy Governor Lee’s trial has been stalled for over a month since around June of this year, following revelations that he reversed some statements, including admitting to the prosecution a connection between Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and Ssangbangwool’s illegal remittance to North Korea. This led to conflicts with his wife over the dismissal of his defense attorney.

On the 5th, during the 45th hearing of former Deputy Governor Lee, witness examination related to charges of instructing evidence destruction is scheduled to take place.

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