It was reported on the 6th that the Supreme Court's second division has received the appeal case of former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young regarding the 'illegal remittance to North Korea by SSANGBANGWOOL Group.' The presiding judge is Supreme Court Justice Park Young-jae (22nd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute). Previously, the former vice governor was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial, which was reduced to 7 years and 8 months in the second trial.

Former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young. /Courtesy of News1
Former Gyeonggi Province Peace Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young. /Courtesy of News1

Former Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young was indicted and detained on charges of getting SSANGBANGWOOL to cover a total of $8 million, including $5 million for Gyeonggi Province's North Korean project (smart farm) and $3 million for then Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's expenses for visiting North Korea from January 2019 to January 2020. He also faced charges of bribery and violations of the Political Fund Act for receiving a corporate credit card and corporate vehicle from SSANGBANGWOOL and for making fictitious salary payments to employees.

The first trial recognized former Vice Governor Lee's charges of bribery and illegal foreign currency export, sentencing him to 9 years and 6 months in prison, along with a fine of 250 million won and a forfeiture of 325.95 million won.

The second trial reached the same conclusion as the first regarding the guilt or innocence of the charges but reduced the sentence to 7 years and 8 months. The reason given was, "The sentences for the bribery offenses and the violation of the Political Fund Act, which is in conjunction with other crimes, should be considered separately during sentencing." Both the prosecution and the side of the former vice governor have appealed the second trial's decision.

The Supreme Court allocated the case to the second division, one of its sub-divisions, on the 21st of last month. The sub-division consists of four justices. Currently, the second division of the Supreme Court is composed of Justice Park Young-jae, Justice Oh Gyeong-mi, and Justice Kwon Young-jun. A seat became vacant last December when Justice Kim Sang-hwan retired.

Previously, on the 12th of last month, the Supreme Court renewed the detention period for the former vice governor. He was detained and indicted on October 14, 2022, and was initially held in the Suwon Detention Center, but has been incarcerated at Anseong Correctional Facility since being sentenced to prison in the first trial on June 7 last year. The maximum detention period for the defendant is 2 months. If there is a continued need for detention, it can be renewed twice in 2-month increments. However, in the appellate trial and the Supreme Court trial, it can be renewed up to three times.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's judgment regarding the former vice governor could also influence the trial of Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the Democratic Party, related to the 'third-party bribery case of SSANGBANGWOOL's remittance to North Korea.' The prosecution indicted Lee Jae-myung as an accomplice in this case on June 12 last year, following the first trial's ruling against the former vice governor.

The prosecution views that Representative Lee may be liable for third-party bribery, violations of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act, and violations of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act. They believe that while the request for illegal remittance to North Korea was made by the former vice governor to former SSANGBANGWOOL Group Chairman Kim Sung-tae, it was Representative Lee who was briefed and approved the process.