The Democratic Party of Korea disclosed a recording allegedly showing that the prosecutor handling the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case attempted to coerce former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young, targeting then-opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, and vowed to verify the allegations through a parliamentary investigation special committee.
On Thursday, Democratic Party members of the "Special Committee for the Parliamentary Investigation into the Truth of the Yoon Suk-yeol Regime's Political Prosecution and Fabricated Indictment" said regarding the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case that it was "a fabricated indictment where the conclusion was written first and testimony was stitched together to fit," adding they would "bring the participants to justice through a thorough fact-finding investigation."
Earlier, Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the Democratic Party held a press briefing with attorney Seo Min-seok, who had represented former Vice Governor Lee in the Ssangbangwool case, and released a voice recording of prosecutor Park Sang-yong, who had led the investigation, saying, "There needs to be a confession in which Lee Jae-myung becomes the principal offender and this person [former Vice Governor Lee] becomes the accessory."
Regarding the recording, Rep. Lee Geon-tae claimed, "The Yoon Suk-yeol regime sought to eliminate President Lee Jae-myung, who was the leader of the main opposition party and a leading presidential contender, by deploying political prosecutors. They wrote the conclusion first and stitched the testimony together. The fabrication is clear."
"It has been confirmed that prosecutors engaged in illegal fabricated statements and fabricated indictments — things prosecutors must never do — in order to ensnare President Lee," he said. "They dangled carrots to extract false testimony from former Vice Governor Lee in order to implicate President Lee. The entire thing is a comprehensive illegality."
The lawmakers said the special committee would vote to approve witnesses and references on the 31st, followed by an agency briefing on the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case on April 3 and agency briefings on the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town cases on April 7.
On the morning of April 9, the committee plans to conduct an on-site inspection of Room 1313 at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, believed to be the location of the so-called "salmon and alcohol party" allegations, as well as the video recording interrogation room, followed by an afternoon agency briefing on the West Sea shooting incident.
Hearings are scheduled for April 14 on the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, April 16 on the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town cases, and April 21 on the West Sea shooting incident. A comprehensive hearing is planned for April 28.
Plans for summoning witnesses and references have also taken shape. For the Daejang-dong case, the committee said it plans to summon Hwacheon Daeyu's largest shareholder Kim Man-bae, as well as Nam Wook, Jung Young-hak, and Jung Min-yong, along with prosecutors Eom Hee-jun, Kang Baek-shin, and Jung Il-gon, who investigated the case.
The committee members also said they would summon demolition contractor surnamed Kang, a figure who could rebut testimony that former Seongnam Development Corporation planning director Yoo Dong-gyu received 300 million won from Nam Wook and delivered it to former Democratic Party chief of staff for political coordination Jung Jin-sang and others.
For the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, approximately 10 prison guards who claim to have witnessed the salmon and alcohol party allegations, former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Sung-tae, Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association Chairman Ahn Bu-su and his daughter, and prosecutors Park Sang-yong, Kim Young-nam, and Seo Hyun-wook, who handled the investigation and prosecution, are expected to be approved as witnesses.
Institutional witnesses expected to be summoned include the National Intelligence Service, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), and the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office.
Rep. Lee explained, "The NIS conducted its own audit [regarding the fabricated indictment], and the FSS investigated and referred Kim Sung-tae's market manipulation allegations, but the prosecution closed the case without charges." Regarding the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, he said, "They formed a human rights investigation task force to look into whether there were illegalities in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case. We intend to verify these aspects."
Regarding former People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon's demand to be called as a parliamentary investigation witness, Rep. Park Sung-jun, the ruling party's whip on the special committee, dismissed it as "the flailing of former Minister Han, who is descending into a political ronin and being abandoned even by the PPP." He added, "If he first discloses his phone passcode and reveals to the public every detail of what he discussed with Kim Keon-hee, we will consider accepting him."
Rep. Lee raised his voice over Han's demand, calling it "an attempt to turn the parliamentary investigation into a stage for political bickering" and saying it "appears to be a force trying to help Yoon Suk-yeol by obstructing the investigation and concealing the prosecutorial dictatorship of Yoon Suk-yeol's political prosecution."