Actor Park Sung-woong appeared as a witness at the trial of former 1st Marine Division commander Lim Seong-geun on charges of perjury and underwent an examination of witnesses.
On the 8th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (presiding Judge Jo Hyeong-woo) opened a trial session for former Division Commander Lim, who is accused of violating the Act on Testimony and Appraisal in the National Assembly, and conducted the examination of witnesses for Park Sung-woong.
In September last year, Park Sung-woong, as a reference witness in relation to allegations of lobbying to secure a pardon for former Division Commander Lim, was investigated by the special prosecution team probing the death-in-service marine case. At the time, Park Sung-woong attracted attention by testifying that in August 2022 he had drinks at a bar in Gangnam, Seoul, with former Black Pearl Invest CEO Lee Jong-ho and former Division Commander Lim, among others.
After taking the witness oath, Park Sung-woong, who appeared as a witness, requested that the examination be conducted privately, saying, "Because of the nature of my profession, if the examination of witnesses is conducted publicly there is a concern of excessive exposure to the media and outsiders. I could be psychologically intimidated and that could affect the completeness of my testimony," but the court did not accept the request.
In response to the special prosecution team's "Do you remember drinking with Lee's party at a bar in Gangnam, Seoul?" he replied, "To be honest, I don't clearly remember. I don't remember the bar's name or the location," and "What I remember clearly is that someone whom Lee treated like a younger brother or friend came and went. He said 'our general, our division commander, marine,' and I remember the two of them hugging," among other statements.
Regarding how he came to know former CEO Lee, Park Sung-woong said, "I was introduced by a close younger acquaintance," and "Mr. Lee even came to my father's 80th birthday celebration."
Former CEO Lee is suspected of approaching officials in the government of former President Yoon Suk-yeol and asking for help in securing a pardon for former Division Commander Lim based on his connection of having managed Kim Keon-hee's account in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case. In relation to this, former Division Commander Lim testified before the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee in October last year that he had never met former CEO Lee.
Meanwhile, Park Sung-woong is currently appearing in the KBS2 miniseries "Shim Woo-myeon Yeon-ri-ri."
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