DP Political Prosecution Committee: "Ssangbangwool North Korea Remittance Case Fabricated... Immediate Investigation Needed"

On September 8, the Democratic Party of Korea's Special Committee on Political Prosecution and Fabricated Indictments called for an immediate investigation by the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution, claiming that prosecutors had fabricated charges in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case.

Assemblyman Han Junho condemning the prosecution's indictment in the North Korea remittance case. Photo by Yonhap News

Han Junho, chair of the special committee, stated at a National Assembly press conference on the same day, "The reality of the political prosecution's fabricated indictments has been revealed through the testimony of Cho Kyungshik, vice chairman of KH Group."

On September 5, at a National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee hearing, Vice Chairman Cho appeared as a witness and claimed that during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, prosecutors pressured former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Sungtae to make false statements, and that Assemblyman Kwon Seongdong of the People Power Party was also involved.

The special committee stated, "If, as Cho Kyungshik testified, political circles and the prosecution colluded to fabricate the case in exchange for large sums of money and to frame opposition politicians, this would be an unprecedented case of fabricated indictment."

The committee further asserted, "Although this case was unrelated to then-Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jaemyung and Vice Governor Lee Hwayoung, the Yoon Suk Yeol political prosecutors pressured Chairman Kim Sungtae to make false statements and carried out a fabricated indictment targeting political rivals, and these facts have been fully exposed."

The special committee said, "The Ministry of Justice and the prosecution must conduct a comprehensive reinvestigation into the full circumstances of the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, including the false testimony by Kim Sungtae and his associates, as well as whether Assemblymen Kwon Seongdong and Lee Cheolgyu were involved."