Members of the People Power Party (PPP) on the "Special Parliamentary Committee for the State Investigation of Fabricated Indictments by the Political Prosecution Under the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration" announced they will file perjury charges against six individuals, including former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young.
Kim Hyung-dong, PPP secretary of the special committee, explained the rationale for the complaint at a press conference Friday, saying, "As witnesses, they denied the court's final rulings or misled the committee as if no existing evidence existed, clearly revealing their intent to obstruct the truth-finding process."
The six targets include former Vice Governor Lee, National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Lee Jong-seok, Acting Seoul High Prosecutors' Office Chief Jung Yong-hwa, KH Group Vice Chairman Cho Kyung-sik, attorney Nam Wook, and an NIS employee surnamed Kim.
Kim particularly criticized Lee, saying, "Despite the clear existence of photographs showing the former vice governor drinking with former Ssangbang-wool Chairman Kim Sung-tae, he continued to give statements denying this." He added, "This is not a matter that can be dismissed as a simple memory error or difference in interpretation, but rather a clear false statement made before the National Assembly."
He also claimed that the NIS director and other NIS and Ssangbang-wool officials have been making false statements that contradict previous testimony by former Ssangbang-wool Vice Chairman Bang Yong-chul, who testified at a hearing that he "personally saw Ri Ho-nam in the Philippines."
NIS Director Lee had stated during his agency report to the special committee that "Ri Ho-nam was not in the Philippines between July 24 and 27, 2019, and we have confirmed that he stayed in a third country."
PPP Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun said, "Director Lee stated in the committee's agency report that it was certain Ri Ho-nam was not in the Philippines. However, the director's statement directly contradicts the statements of former Ssangbang-wool Chairman Kim Sung-tae and others."
PPP Rep. Na Kyung-won said, "The statement from the NIS employee is also problematic. The anonymous NIS employee stated that Ri Ho-nam was not in the Philippines, but he is not in a position to analyze or know such information."
She added, "There is information that the NIS employee is a close friend of Lee Hwa-young. Given that the NIS is mobilizing every means to provide grounds, it is effectively playing a key role in the state investigation of the fabricated indictment."
