The suspension of Park Sang-yong, a prosecutor involved in the “Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case,” has sparked significant controversy. The Ministry of Justice announced on the 6th that Park was suspended following a request from the Acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyun. Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho stated that continuing Park’s duties would be highly inappropriate. The ministry also mentioned that they would take swift and severe actions based on the ongoing inspection by the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office.
This case, which had previously been mired in political disputes due to allegations by the Democratic Party of Korea, is now escalating into government-level personnel actions, including the suspension of a prosecutor. The situation has drawn attention as it involves high-level political and legal dynamics.
Special Counsel Claims Government Intervention
Amid the developments, the second comprehensive special counsel, tasked with investigating remaining cases related to three special counsels (insurrection, Kim Keon-hee, and the deceased Marine), made a significant statement during a briefing. They revealed that there are signs indicating the Yoon Suk-yeol government’s presidential office attempted to intervene in the investigation into the “Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance” case. This is viewed as a suspected large-scale abuse of national power.
According to the special counsel, the presidential office attempted to interfere within four days of taking over the case. Assistant Special Counsel Kwon Young-bin mentioned that clues reported to former President Yoon have been confirmed, but further verification is needed regarding who intervened and to what extent.
This revelation came just four days after the special counsel received a “suspicion of statement coercion” case from the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office’s Human Rights Inspection Task Force. The suspicion alleges that Park’s investigation team at Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office coerced key suspects through salmon parties and other means to extract statements implicating President Lee Jae Myung during the 2022–2024 Ssangbangwool case investigation.
The Democratic Party raised suspicions that the Yoon Suk-yeol government’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) attempted to intervene in the investigation. During the parliamentary probe’s institutional report on the 3rd, NIS Director Lee Jong-seok stated that a former deputy chief prosecutor, Yoo Do-yoon, is suspected of acting as a close liaison with Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office. The implication is that the NIS submitted only materials unfavorable to former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young during the raid.
The NIS also claimed that the prosecution’s indictment—that former Chairman Kim Sung-tae delivered $700,000 to North Korean agent Ri Ho-nam in the Philippines in July 2019 as costs for President Lee’s visit to North Korea—is false. The NIS reported to the National Assembly that a special audit last year confirmed that Ri Ho-nam was in China, not the Philippines, at the time. This information, which had not been submitted to the prosecution or courts, was newly discovered.
In the Ssangbangwool case, $8 million was allegedly sent to North Korea: $5 million for smart farm support and $3 million for President Lee’s visit costs. Courts have recognized these facts. However, the Democratic Party claims the prosecution fabricated the case by focusing on the $700,000 allegedly received by Ri Ho-nam in the Philippines.
Legal Disputes and Court Rulings
Park countered that the prosecution seized and submitted documents favorable to former Vice Governor Lee to the court. He explained that as a national security agency, the NIS can conduct raids with the agency head’s permission and that the NIS submitted documents related to “Ssangbangwool stock manipulation” as specified in the warrant. Park further stated that all seized materials were submitted to the court, but the court rejected the evidence favorable to the former vice governor.
During Lee Hwa-young’s trial, the prosecution presented video footage of a North Korean delegation being welcomed at Manila Airport and stated that Ri Ho-nam used multiple aliases to disguise his identity. In December 2024, the Suwon High Court sentenced Lee to 7 years and 8 months, ruling that even if Ri Ho-nam was not on the guest list and no one saw him on-site, this does not affect the credibility of former Chairman Kim’s testimony that he gave $700,000 to Ri Ho-nam. The Supreme Court later upheld this ruling.
Democratic Party leader Chung Chung-rae criticized the situation, stating that the truth of the heinous Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case is coming to light, intensifying the offensive. A legal industry source remarked that the government, ruling party, special counsel, and even the NIS are pushing to frame the investigation as fabricated, adding, “Isn’t this ultimately pressuring the dismissal of charges against President Lee?”
월 5900원 멤버십, 신문 독자에게는 2900원, 조선멤버십
55000원 상당의 신문-잡지 8종 마음껏 보기, 조선멤버십
현금처럼 쓸 7000포인트 받아 알뜰한 쇼핑, 조선멤버십
