'Lee Jae-myung Warrant Dismissed' Judge Yu Chang-hoon to Decide Song Young-gil's Detention... Substantive Hearing on 18th

The decision on whether to detain former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil will be made by Chief Judge Yoo Chang-hoon of the Seoul Central District Court, who previously dismissed the arrest warrant for current leader Lee Jae-myung.

On the 14th, the Seoul Central District Court announced that the detention hearing for former leader Song, who is facing an arrest warrant on charges including violation of the Political Funds Act, will be held on the 18th at 10 a.m., presided over by Chief Judge Yoo.

Song Young-gil, former leader of the Democratic Party and identified as the ultimate beneficiary of the Democratic Party cash envelope scandal, is holding a press conference as he appears for his first summons investigation on the 8th at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon) filed an arrest warrant for former leader Song on charges including violation of the Political Parties Act, the Political Funds Act, and bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, related to the Democratic Party's party convention money envelope scandal and donations received from the external support organization 'Peace and Livelihood Research Institute (Meoksa-yeon)'.

Former leader Song is suspected of involvement in the distribution of money envelopes totaling 66.5 million won to Democratic Party lawmakers and regional headquarters chiefs during March to April 2021, ahead of the party convention. Additionally, he is accused of receiving illegal political funds totaling 763 million won from seven individuals through Meoksa-yeon between January 2020 and December 2021. Among these, the prosecution considers the 40 million won received by Song from Park Yong-ha, former chairman of the Yeosu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in July to August 2021 as a bribe given with an improper request to persuade for the expedited approval process related to the new and expanded incineration facilities in the Yeosu National Industrial Complex.

Chief Judge Yoo previously dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution for Lee Jae-myung in September, related to allegations of Baekhyun-dong development, illegal remittances to North Korea, and perjury coaching in the public election law trial.

At that time, Chief Judge Yoo stated, "Considering the necessity to guarantee the suspect's right to defense and the degree of concern for evidence tampering, it is difficult to find grounds and necessity for detention to the extent that the principle of non-detention should be excluded," and dismissed the arrest warrant for Lee.

In particular, although Chief Judge Yoo acknowledged that "the charge of perjury coaching appears to be substantiated," he dismissed the warrant citing disputes over other charges or the fact that evidence had already been secured, which sparked controversy.

At that time, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office stated, "While acknowledging that the charge of perjury coaching has been substantiated and there is considerable suspicion of the suspect's involvement in the Baekhyun-dong development corruption, it is difficult to accept the judgment that there is room for dispute based on Lee Hwa-young's testimony recognizing the suspect's involvement in illegal remittances to North Korea."

Furthermore, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office strongly opposed the decision, pointing out, "Acknowledging that the charge of perjury coaching has been substantiated means that evidence tampering has realistically occurred, yet the court judged that there is no concern for evidence tampering. While recognizing circumstances that suggest improper interference by surrounding figures, the court still ruled that there is no concern for evidence tampering, which is contradictory."

If former leader Song is detained, the Democratic Party's criticism that the prosecution is conducting a politically motivated 'targeted investigation' will lose credibility, and the prosecution is expected to accelerate investigations into the 20 incumbent lawmakers who received money envelopes, thereby securing the legitimacy of the investigation.

On the other hand, if the arrest warrant for former leader Song is dismissed following that of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, the prosecution is expected to face a tremendous backlash. The opposition party's criticism of a 'reckless political planned investigation' will gain traction, and the prosecution's investigation is likely to face setbacks.

Regarding the charges related to the money envelope scandal, the key issue will be what evidence the prosecution can present to prove that former leader Song was aware of the distribution process. The fact that related individuals who were previously detained and indicted have given unfavorable testimonies against Song in court is a burden for him. Some in the prosecution speculate that the court may take the allegations related to Meoksa-yeon donations, which Song has claimed to be a 'separate investigation,' more seriously and may issue an arrest warrant on that basis.

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