The side of Lee Jong-ho, former head of Black Pearl Invest, claimed in court that he once delivered a cashier's check for 300 million won to first lady Kim Keon-hee.
On the 16th, at the sentencing hearing before the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 23 presided over by Senior Judge Oh Se-yong, the defense for the former head said, "There was a time when we gave 300 million won to Kim Keon-hee by cashier's check," and added, "We went to the Kim Keon-hee special counsel and talked about that part."
The former head played a "control tower" role in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case, which is linked to allegations involving the first lady, and during the second phase of the stock manipulation, managed the first lady's account.
He was indicted and detained by the special counsel team in August on charges of deceiving Lee Jeong-pil by saying he would work to get a suspended sentence instead of a prison term in Lee's criminal trial, and receiving a little over 80 million won from June 2022 to Feb. 2023 in 25 installments. He is known to have cited his closeness with the first lady to persuade Lee and, by showing photos taken with lawmakers and others, said he could use connections in politics and the legal community to influence the trial.
The former head's side put forward this statement as a basis for cooperation with the investigation that day. The defense said, "We went to the defendant and checked what had not been said until now, and it was 'There was a time when we gave 300 million won to Kim Keon-hee by cashier's check,'" and added, "The Marine Corps special counsel said it wasn't their case, so we went to the Kim Keon-hee special counsel and talked about that part." Since he testified to matters that had not come to light during the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case investigation, the argument is that this differs from the special counsel's view that sought a prison term on grounds of evidence destruction and lack of cooperation.
The former head's side claimed the 300 million won was part of stock investment revenue. A close associate told the media, "In the past, the first lady entrusted 1.5 billion won in investment funds to the former head," and explained, "The former head generated 300 million won in investment revenue and returned a total of 1.8 billion won, including the principal and gains, to the first lady." They also said the delivery was before the Deutsch Motors case surfaced. The former head's side said they first testified to this fact to the special counsel, and that the special counsel subsequently conducted a formal investigation.
Meanwhile, the Kim Keon-hee special counsel asked the court that day to sentence the former head to four years in prison, a fine of 10 million won, and a forfeiture of 83.9 million won. The special counsel said, "This is a case where cash was received with the promise of securing a suspended sentence through connections with the president, first lady, and legal professionals," calling it "a serious crime that inflicted fatal damage on the fairness and integrity of the criminal justice process." The team also said, "By flaunting familiarity with the president, the first lady, and a senior judge, he received the equivalent of 83 million won 25 times over eight months," adding, "He also said that if the money wasn't paid, the sentence would be heavier and threatened disadvantages." They added that breaking and discarding a cellphone and other acts of destroying evidence, circumstances suggesting an attempt to create an alibi with false evidence, and denying the charges were all aggravating factors in sentencing.
The former head's side sought dismissal of the indictment, citing violations such as exceeding the scope of investigation and the ban on investigations during the preparation period. The defense said, "The special counsel conducted investigations beyond the scope set by law and violated the principle of no investigations during the preparation period," adding, "If this is tolerated, it would seriously undermine the rule of law." In his final statement, the former head said, "I sincerely apologize for having caused great trouble to society with my careless actions and for having been investigated by both special counsel teams," and asked for leniency. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 13 next year.