2023-12-12 06:22:06
The prosecution, which is investigating the suspicion of ‘instigation of perjury’ in the trial of Kim Yong (57, arrested and imprisoned), a close associate of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myeong and former vice president of the Institute for Democracy, is calling and investigating a witness who was pointed out as having perjured Kim Yong’s alibi on the 12th. It has been 12 days since Mr. Kim was sentenced to five years in prison by the first trial court on the 30th of last month and was detained by the court.
Kim Yong, former vice director of the Democratic Party of Korea’s Democratic Institute, is attending a sentencing hearing on suspicion of illegal presidential election funding from the Democratic Party held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the followingnoon of the 30th of last month. /Newsis
According to this paper’s coverage, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Kang Baek-shin) summoned Mr. Lee (63), a former head of the Gyeonggi-do Market Promotion Agency, as a suspect this morning and is investigating. It is reported that the prosecution is asking Mr. Lee regarding how he contacted Mr. Kim’s lawyer before appearing as a witness in the trial.
This suspicion first arose during Kim Yong’s trial last May. Mr. Kim was indicted and put on trial in November last year on charges of receiving 847 million won in illegal political funds from Dong-gyu Yoo (former head of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation). Mr. Lee appeared as a witness at the trial last May.
At the trial at the time, Mr. Lee testified that he had a business discussion with Mr. Kim at a different location on ‘May 3, 2021’, which was designated as the day that Mr. Kim Yong-gyu received 100 million won from Mr. Yoo Dong-gyu. I also submitted a photo of my old cell phone calendar screen with my appointment schedule at the time. Mr. Lee appeared in court and provided an alibi to deny Mr. Yong Kim’s charges.
However, Mr. Lee’s testimony and photos were found to be false. Chief Judge Yoo Chang-hoon of the Seoul Central District Court, who reviewed Mr. Lee’s arrest warrant last September, said, “Mr. Lee admits to perjury and data manipulation from the prosecution investigation to the interrogation process,” and added, “Now that objective data has been secured, it is difficult to say that there is a risk of evidence destruction.” “The warrant is dismissed,” he said. The intention was that Mr. Kim confessed to most of his charges of perjury and use of forged evidence during the substantive warrant review, so there was no significant need for him to be detained.
The first trial also found it difficult to believe Mr. Lee’s testimony. On the 30th of last month, Criminal Agreement Division 23 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Byeong-gu) sentenced Mr. Kim Yong to five years in prison, regarding the suspicion of perjury, saying, “The defendant (Kim Yong)’s witness (Mr. Lee) perjured himself and submitted false information, and submitted false information through Telegram. “Suspicious circumstances, such as indirect contact between the defendant and those involved in the case, were also confirmed,” the ruling ruled. Accordingly, the court detained Mr. Kim, saying there was a risk of destroying evidence.
The prosecution suspects that Mr. Kim Yong’s lawyer, Mr. Lee, and Mr. Seo and Mr. Park, who were situation room chiefs for Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myeong’s presidential election campaign, participated in instigating perjury. Attorney Lee said, “I have never asked or told a witness to perjure me,” and added, “It is natural for a lawyer to contact the witness who will appear and confirm the contents.”
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