Former Gyeonggi vice governor convicted for illegal payments to North Korea

Lee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of Gyeonggi, was sentenced on Friday to nine and a half years' imprisonment by the Suwon District Court on charges of collusion in an underwear manufacturer's illegal payments to North Korea.

Former Gyeonggi Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young arrives at the Suwon District Court for his arrest warrant review on Sept. 27, 2022. [YONHAP]

Lee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of Gyeonggi, was sentenced on Friday to nine and a half years' imprisonment by the Suwon District Court on charges of collusion in an underwear manufacturer's illegal payments to North Korea.

In its ruling, the court declared Lee guilty of bribery and laws governing foreign exchange transactions and political funding by helping Ssangbangwool Group (SBW) transfer payments totaling $8 million to North Korea between 2019 and 2020.

According to prosecutors, $5 million was earmarked for the province’s agricultural assistance project in the North, but the rest was intended to curry favor with Pyongyang for a potential visit by Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung, who served as governor of Gyeonggi until 2021.

While questions remain as to why Lee Jae-myung would seek to arrange a visit to Pyongyang, he was notably not included in former President Moon Jae-in’s delegation to Pyongyang in September 2018, which was comprised of other DP bigwigs.

Kim Seong-tae, the former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, has also been indicted by prosecutors on suspicion of embezzling from five of Ssangbangwool’s unlisted subsidiaries and violating the foreign exchange transactions law by handing money to the North.

The money was allegedly carried in suitcases by Ssangbangwool employees to China, where prosecutors claim it was delivered to North Korean agents in meetings where Kim and Lee Hwa-young were present.

The former vice governor, who was indicted by prosecutors in October 2022, has denied the charges, despite admitting to keeping Lee Jae-myung informed about SBW’s payments to the North.

With Lee Hwa-young’s conviction, prosecutors are expected to indict the DP leader on suspicions that he asked SBW to transfer $8 million to North Korea.

The state prosecution service applied for an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung in September last year on multiple charges that included the allegation tying him to the North Korean payments case, but the Seoul Central District Court refused to approve the warrant.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]