[Breaking News] Credibility of Former Chairman Kim Seong-tae's Testimony Recognized in Relation to Lee Hwa-young's North Korea Remittance Charges

On the 7th at 2 p.m., the first trial verdict was delivered in the case against former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young, who was charged with violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery), the Political Funds Act, and obstruction of evidence, presided over by the Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Shin Jin-woo). The court stated, "Regarding the charge of violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, the credibility of former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae's statement that Ssangbangwool paid the smart farm project costs on behalf of Gyeonggi Province is recognized."

The court cited specific testimonies from former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae, who said he prepared funds to be sent to North Korea through currency exchange after hearing from former Deputy Governor Lee that "if support is provided for costs to be sent to North Korea, Ssangbangwool would gain a good opportunity to conduct business with the North," as well as from former Vice Chairman Bang Yong-chul.

Additionally, the court acknowledged the credibility of former Chairman Kim's testimony that after receiving a proposal for a North Korea-related business from former Deputy Governor Lee, he met with Kim Seong-hoe in China along with Bang Yong-chul and others, and later met again with former Deputy Governor Lee, stating that "if the company directly supports the $5 million, it could harm the company due to violations of North Korea sanctions, so I will support it personally."

Former Deputy Governor Lee was arrested and indicted in October 2022 on charges of receiving bribes amounting to hundreds of millions of won and illegal political funds by being provided with a corporate card and corporate vehicle from the Ssangbangwool Group from July 2018 to July 2022, and by paying false salaries to her associates.

During the trial, in March of last year, she was additionally indicted on charges of asking former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae to pay on her behalf a total of $8 million, including $5 million promised by Gyeonggi Province for the smart farm project to be sent to North Korea and $3 million for CEO Lee's trip to North Korea.

A month later, in April of last year, she was further indicted on charges of requesting former Ssangbangwool Vice Chairman Bang Yong-chul to delete data related to her use of the corporate card ahead of the prosecution's investigation.

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