Lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea on the National Assembly's Special Committee on a parliamentary investigation into the facts of the "Yoon Suk-yeol administration political prosecution fabricated indictment allegations" on the 29th again claimed that the SSANGBANGWOOL remittance-to-North-Korea case was a "fabricated indictment that wrote the conclusion first and tailored the statements," saying they would "bring those involved to the judgment of the law through a thorough fact-finding."
Rep. Lee Geon-tae said at a press briefing at the National Assembly that day, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration tried to remove President Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition party and a leading presidential contender," adding, "They wrote the conclusion first and tailored the statements. The fabrication is clear."
Lee said, "It has been confirmed that prosecutors, to catch President Lee, engaged in illegal fabricated statements and a fabricated indictment that prosecutors must not do," adding, "They offered a carrot to extract false testimony from former Vice Governor Lee to tie President Lee in. This whole thing is a comprehensive illegality."
The lawmakers plan to vote on adopting witnesses and references on the 31st, followed by briefings from agencies on the SSANGBANGWOOL remittance-to-North-Korea case on the 3rd of next month and on the Daejang-dong and Wirye new town cases on the 7th. On the morning of the 9th of the same month, they will conduct an on-site inspection of Room 1313 of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, the presumed location of the so-called "salmon and drinking party" allegations, as well as video-recorded interview rooms, and in the afternoon receive a briefing from agencies on the West Sea shooting case.
Hearings will be held in sequence next month on the 14th for the SSANGBANGWOOL remittance-to-North-Korea case, the 16th for the Daejang-dong and Wirye new town cases, and the 21st for the West Sea shooting case. A comprehensive hearing is planned for the 28th of next month.
Plans to summon witnesses and references have also taken shape. Regarding the Daejang-dong development scandal, they said they plan to call Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, as well as Nam Wook, Jung Young-hak, and Jung Min-yong, and prosecutors Um Hee-jun, Kang Baek-sin, and Jung Il-gon, who investigated the case.
In addition, special committee lawmakers said they would also call a demolition contractor, a person surnamed Kang, as someone who could refute the statement that former Seongnam Development Corporation planning chief Yoo Dong-gyu received 300 million won from Nam Wook and delivered it to former Democratic Party political coordination chief at the party leader's office, Jeong Jin-sang, and others.
As for the SSANGBANGWOOL remittance-to-North-Korea case, more than 10 correctional officers who claim they witnessed the salmon and drinking party allegations; former SSANGBANGWOOL Chairman Kim Sung-tae; Ahn Bu-su, head of the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association, and his daughter; and prosecutors Park Sang-yong, Kim Young-nam, and Seo Hyun-uk, who handled the investigation and prosecution, are expected to be adopted as witnesses. As institutional witnesses, they plan to call the National Intelligence Service, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office.
Rep. Lee explained, "The National Intelligence Service conducted its own audit regarding the fabricated indictment, and the Financial Supervisory Service investigated and forwarded Kim Sung-tae's stock-price manipulation allegations, but prosecutors closed the case with no charges." Regarding the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, Lee said, "It created a human rights investigation task force (TF) to look into whether there was illegality in the SSANGBANGWOOL remittance-to-North-Korea case," adding, "We intend to confirm these parts."
Regarding former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon's demand that he be adopted as a witness for the parliamentary probe, Park Sung-joon, the ruling party secretary on the special committee, said, "It's the sight of a former Minister, who is degenerating into a political drifter, being abandoned even by the People Power Party and thrashing about," adding, "If he first discloses his (cellphone) password and lays out before the public exactly what he talked about with Kim Keon-hee, we will accept it."
Rep. Lee Geon-tae also said of Han's demand, "It's an attempt to turn the parliamentary probe into a venue for political strife," adding, "It appears to be a force trying to help Yoon Suk-yeol by obstructing the probe to cover up the prosecutorial dictatorship of Yoon Suk-yeol's political prosecutors."
On the same day, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi held a press briefing with attorney Seo Min-seok, who had represented the former vice governor in connection with the SSANGBANGWOOL remittance-to-North-Korea case, and released a call recording of prosecutor Park Sang-yong, claiming that prosecutors engaged in "statement engineering." Seo is also a preliminary candidate for Cheongju mayor in the Democratic Party's June 3 local elections.
In the call recording released that day between attorney Seo and prosecutor Park, Park's voice is heard saying, "We need a statement that can be maintained through trial," and, "There needs to be a confession in which Mr. Lee Jae-myung becomes the main culprit completely and this person (the former vice governor) becomes an accomplice."
There is also content suggesting that prosecutor Park said he blocked additional investigations or warrant requests for people around the former vice governor. In response, Park said on Facebook, "It was attorney Seo who proposed charging Lee Hwa-young as an accomplice," adding, "The recording contains me saying that is difficult under the current circumstances and explaining general conditions for leniency."