Former Democratic Party Leader Song Young-gil Investigated in Money Envelope Distribution Scandal

Former Representative Song Young-gil, who is suspected of being involved in the ‘distribution of envelopes of money at the Democratic Party of Korea National Convention’, is leaving the court after completing the substantive examination of the warrant held at the Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 18th. /News 1

The prosecution banned former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil, who was identified as the leader of the ‘National Convention money envelope distribution’ incident, from meeting anyone other than his lawyer. Former Representative Song’s wife criticized this to the effect that it was something that had never happened during the Chun Doo-hwan administration. Former reporter Lee Dong-jae, who was indicted in the Channel A incident, refuted, saying, “I was also victimized by the Moon Jae-in regime’s prosecution.”

According to the legal community on the 20th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Anti-Corruption Investigation Department 2 (Chief Choi Jae-hoon) took measures to prevent former CEO Song, who is imprisoned in the Seoul Detention Center, from meeting others, including his family and acquaintances, other than his lawyer, until he is indicted.

A prosecution official said, “When there is a suspect in custody who is at risk of destroying evidence, it is customary to ban contact with him.” The court issued an arrest warrant saying that it had been proven that former leader Song was partially involved in receiving bribes related to the party leadership primary, and that there were concerns about the destruction of evidence.

Regarding this, Nam Young-shin, former CEO Song’s wife, said through the YouTube channel ‘Song Young-gil TV’, “I received a call from the detention center and the prosecution banned all contact with lawyers, family, and acquaintances until the indictment.” However, a prosecution official explained, “It is legally impossible to prohibit a detained suspect from meeting with a lawyer.” Our Constitution guarantees the right to receive assistance from a lawyer. However, the Criminal Procedure Act allows for the prohibition of meeting with ‘non-lawyers’ at the request of the prosecutor when there is substantial reason to believe that the person may run away or destroy evidence of a crime.

Mr. Nam said, “I can’t even make video calls. They say books are not allowed to be brought in, and letters cannot be sent out from inside.” These measures are also stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Act. If there is a reasonable cause, documents or other items may be prevented from being received, inspected, or confiscated.

Mr. Nam claimed, “When I asked whether any politician had recently been asked to refrain from meeting with the prosecution, the answer was ‘I don’t think so.’” However, a ban on contact with anyone other than a lawyer was also imposed on independent lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok, Korea Water Resources Corporation standing audit committee member Kang Rae-gu, and former aide Park Yong-soo, who were previously arrested for the ‘money envelope incident’.

Mr. Nam said, “Even during the Chun Doo-hwan dictatorship, it was possible to visit family members and books were sent in, but what does this mean?” and “I sincerely ask for your help.”

In response to this, a counterargument was made that during the Moon Jae-in administration, prosecutors also took measures to ban correspondence and meetings. Former reporter Lee Dong-jae, who was indicted in the Channel A incident, said to Nam on Facebook on the 20th, “Lee Seong-yoon and Jeong Jin-woong committed a ban on correspondence and meetings with me during the Moon Jae-in administration, which was not done even during the Chun Doo-hwan era.” The people who indicted former reporter Lee were then-Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong and Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Chief Lee Seong-yoon.

Former reporter Lee said, “Even by your wife’s standards, the Moon Jae-in regime was harsher than the Chun Doo-hwan era, right?” and “For your information, I have never passed around an envelope of money like anyone else, and I have never received a single 10 won bill.” He then said, “I was arrested after being falsely accused, but I was found not guilty on all charges.”

Former reporter Lee was indicted in August 2020 on charges of attempting to threaten Lee Cheol, former CEO of Value Invest Korea (VIK), into revealing information about corruption in the ruling party at the time. MBC raised suspicions of ‘prosecution-prosecution collusion’ that Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, who was the chief prosecutor at the time, and former reporter Lee colluded, but he was confirmed not guilty in January of this year.

Former lawmaker Choi Kang-wook and broadcaster Kim Eo-jun lost a civil suit after being found guilty of defamation by spreading false information about the former reporter.

2023-12-20 07:54:30
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