South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung has been charged by prosecutors with violating the law by sending money to North Korea five years ago through an underwear manufacturer. Lee is accused of directing the Ssangbangwool Group to transfer $8 million illegally to North Korea between 2019 and 2020, while he was the governor of Gyeonggi Province. This remittance was allegedly to facilitate his planned visit to Pyongyang, with promises of provincial government support for Ssangbangwool's business in North Korea in return, according to the Suwon District Prosecutors Office.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) faces charges of third-party bribery and violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act. This latest indictment adds to Lee's legal battles, as he is already on trial for three other cases involving allegations of bribery related to a development project, election law violations, and perjury, currently being heard at the Seoul Central District Court.
The indictment follows the sentencing of Lee Hwa-young, the former Vice Governor, to nine and a half years in prison for multiple charges, including his involvement in Ssangbangwool's unauthorized $8 million transfer to North Korea. The Suwon District Court identified $3.94 million of the total as illegal funds smuggled overseas. Prosecutors assert that $5 million of the money was for Gyeonggi's smart farm support program in North Korea, while the rest was intended to support Lee Jae-myung's visit to Pyongyang. They suspect Lee Hwa-young frequently updated Lee Jae-myung on the remittance process.
Prosecutors further allege that Lee Jae-myung sought to visit North Korea without the unification minister's approval, breaching the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, and violated the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act by facilitating the $8 million transfer to North Korea's regime. Alongside Lee, Lee Hwa-young and former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae face additional charges of third-party bribery and offering bribes. Both Lee Jae-myung and Lee Hwa-young deny the charges, with the DPK leader insisting that the $8 million was unrelated to the Gyeonggi government and was instead a business expense for Ssangbangwool's independent pursuits with North Korea.
