Ewhayeong's Second Detention Extension... Court Cites "Risk of Evidence Tampering and Escape"

The detention period of former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young, who was arrested and indicted on suspicion of remitting money to North Korea through Ssangbangwool Group, has been extended by six months. The charge is obstruction of evidence.

The Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Shin Jin-woo) issued an additional arrest warrant for the former deputy governor on the 13th, stating, "There is concern about evidence destruction and flight risk."

Former Deputy Governor Lee was arrested and indicted last October 14 on charges of receiving bribes and political funds amounting to over 300 million won, including corporate cards from Ssangbangwool Group.

Subsequently, on April 12, an additional arrest warrant was issued for Ssangbangwool's alleged remittance to North Korea (First Consolidated Case - Violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act). The detention period was extended until that day.

Earlier, as the additional detention period of former Deputy Governor Lee was nearing expiration, the prosecution requested the court to issue an additional arrest warrant related to the Second Consolidated Case (obstruction of evidence).

The charge of obstruction of evidence against former Deputy Governor Lee stems from a 2021 media investigation into the "suspected use of Ssangbangwool corporate cards by former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young," during which Lee allegedly requested Kim Sung-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool, and others to delete related materials twice.

The court may issue an arrest warrant ex officio concerning new charges against a defendant who has already been indicted and detained.

The prosecution defined the controversy over the dismissal application of former Deputy Governor Lee's spouse's attorney and the mid-trial withdrawal of some attorneys as "judicial obstruction acts," emphasizing that "if the defendant is released, there will be difficulties in delaying the trial or discovering the substantive truth," and insisted that detention should be extended. The court accepted this.

Accordingly, the detention period of former Deputy Governor Lee has been extended by six months. Since his arrest and indictment, he has been detained for six months, extended by six months with the first additional warrant, and with this second additional warrant, he will be tried while detained for up to one year and six months.

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