Former Chairman Ssangbang-wool, Statement at the Prosecutor’s Office
I also acknowledged the fact that I spoke with CEO Lee.
Dismissing this “new novel by the prosecution”
Democratic Party “We didn’t promote a visit to North Korea”
Former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Seong-tae testified in an investigation by the prosecution that “a total of 8 million dollars was delivered to North Korea, and this was for Gyeonggi-do’s North Korean smart farm support project and for the visit of Lee Jae-myeong, then governor of Gyeonggi-do, the Democratic Party of Korea.”
According to the legal community on the 31st, the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office’s 6th Criminal Division (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-nam) believed that former Chairman Kim delivered a total of 5 million dollars to North Korea on two occasions in January and November 2019, and has been investigating the background. After the arrest investigation, former chairman Kim has been claiming that it is a ‘price for economic cooperation business rights with North Korea’ for a while. When the prosecution presented the relevant data, it is known that he disclosed the details of the additional remittance and the reason for it.
Regarding the purpose of the remittance, former chairman Kim said that the 5 million dollars given in January and April were ‘costs for Gyeonggi-do’s North Korean smart farm support project’, and the 3 million dollars handed over in November was ‘expenses for President Lee’s visit to North Korea, who was the governor of the province at the time. It is known that it was stated with the intent of
Lee Hwa-yeong, former vice-governor of peace in Gyeonggi-do (indicted under arrest), announced six exchange and cooperation projects agreed with North Korea in October 2018. One of them was to designate one farm in the Hwanghae-do region as a smart farm (agricultural and forestry complex pilot farm), and Gyeonggi-do participated in the improvement project.
Regarding this, North Korea asked Ssangbangwool to pay the project cost, saying, “Please support 5 billion won instead of Gyeonggi-do,” and in the end, former chairman Kim said that he complied.
At the time, former deputy governor Lee announced an exchange and cooperation project agreement with North Korea in 2018, and also announced the possibility of a governor’s visit to North Korea within the year. In fact, in May 2019, the following year, Gyeonggi-do reportedly sent an official letter to North Korea’s Chosun Asia-Pacific Peace Committee requesting an invitation to visit North Korea.
In this regard, the North demanded that ‘money is needed for President Lee’s visit to North Korea’, and former Chairman Kim handed over 3 million dollars in exchange for the visit. It is known that former chairman Kim also made a statement to the effect that he heard that ‘Lieutenant Governor Lee Hwa-young reported everything to the provincial governor’ regarding transactions with North Korea.
In a recent investigation, former Chairman Kim is also reported to have admitted to talking to Lee on the phone, saying, “Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young changed me while talking to the provincial governor,” in a meeting with North Korean figures in China in January 2019.
Regarding the suspicion that the Ssangbangwool Group sent $3 million to North Korea as funds for his visit to North Korea while he was governor of Gyeonggi Province, Lee dismissed it as “a new novel by the prosecution.”
The Democratic Party’s Prosecution Dictatorship and Political Suppression Committee said in a statement, “The prosecution’s claim is an absurd novel that has not even confirmed the basic facts.” The countermeasure committee said, “Since the breakdown of the North Korea-US summit in Hanoi in February 2019, inter-Korean relations have been strained in the second half of 2019.” I asked back.
