Lee Hwa-young, former Gyeonggi Province vice governor for peace, who was indicted on charges of receiving tens of millions of won in bribes and illegal political funds from companies in Gyeonggi, asked to reschedule the hearing, saying he was not ready for trial. The court accepted the request to ensure the right to cross-examination, and the session ended in just over 10 minutes without questioning the witness.
The 11th criminal division of the Suwon District Court (presiding judge Song Byung-hun, senior judge) held a hearing on the 21st in the case charging the former vice governor with violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery) and the Political Funds Act, among other counts.
A cross-examination by the former vice governor's side of a prosecution witness, a person surnamed Im, had been scheduled for the day. But as the hearing began, the former vice governor asked to speak and said, "I am very sorry, but I am not at all prepared for today's hearing and would like to postpone the date."
The former vice governor said, "I am facing several trials, and because I focused on the jury trial on the 20th of last month and was writing the appeal brief, I did not even know there was a hearing today," adding, "Whether I forgot while preparing for the jury trial or not, I only found out yesterday after hearing from my attorney."
When the bench pointed out, "A summons was sent to the detention center on May 30 and was served in early June," the former vice governor said, "It is entirely my fault," but repeatedly asked for time to prepare to exercise the right to defense.
As reasons to change the date, the former vice governor also cited the probe into alleged inducement of statements during the SSANGBANGWOOL remittance-to-North-Korea investigation being conducted by the second comprehensive special counsel, as well as the disciplinary proceedings against Park Sang-yong, deputy Director General prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office.
He said, "This case is one of the separate investigations aimed at pressuring Lee Jae-myung and me," and argued, "The special counsel is currently investigating the fabricated investigation, and because a disciplinary announcement is also expected for Prosecutor Park Sang-yong, who is closely related to this matter, I would like to proceed with the trial after seeing these developments."
Prosecutors countered, saying, "It is unreasonable to grant an exception only for the defendant," and, "Because this case is not currently at the center of political controversy, we ask for a decision based on the evidence in this case, not on other circumstances."
To ensure the former vice governor's right to cross-examination, the bench postponed the witness examination scheduled for the day and changed the hearing date. However, it did not accept the request to delay the trial until the results of outside procedures, such as the second comprehensive special counsel's investigation or prosecutorial discipline, are out.
The bench said, "We will not accept a request to proceed after seeing the results because a comprehensive special counsel or other investigations outside this case are underway," adding, "If, going forward, the defendant fails to appear for a reason attributable to the defendant or a witness examination proceeds when the defendant is unprepared, it will be solely the defendant's responsibility."
It then warned, "In that event, we will no longer postpone the date and will proceed according to the set procedure."
The next hearing will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 18. That day, the former vice governor's side is scheduled to cross-examine another witness. The cross-examination of the person surnamed Im, which was postponed on the day, will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 6.
The former vice governor was indicted on June 18, 2024, on charges that from July 2021 to September 2022 he received 300 million won from a construction company head as operating expenses for a local committee where he served as Chairperson and, over six years, took about 500 million won in bribes and illegal political funds from three companies in Gyeonggi and from Kim Sung-tae, former SSANGBANGWOOL Group chairman.
In a separate case, the former vice governor is incarcerated after receiving a finalized sentence of seven years and eight months in prison, a fine of 250 million won, and a forfeiture of 325.95 million won on charges including violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery), violating the Political Funds Act, and violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, for taking tens of millions of won in bribes and illegal political funds from SSANGBANGWOOL Group and conspiring in an $8 million remittance to North Korea.
On June 20, he was sentenced to four months in prison at his first trial on charges including perjury under the Act on Testimony and Appraisal, etc. before the National Assembly, in connection with the so-called "salmon drinking party" allegations. The former vice governor appealed the ruling.