Appeals court upholds guilty verdict for ex-Gyeonggi vice governor

[Anchor]

Former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young, who has been on trial for the 'illegal remittance to North Korea' case, has been sentenced to 7 years and 8 months in prison in the appeals court.

Although the sentence is reduced from the 9 years and 6 months given in the first trial, the guilty verdict remains unchanged.

This is expected to have an impact on the trial of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader who was the governor of Gyeonggi Province at the time of the incident.

Reporter Park Kyung-jun has the details.

[Report]

The so-called 'illegal remittance to North Korea case' involves the allegation that Ssangbangwool remitted 8 million dollars instead of Gyeonggi Province.

Former Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial in June for his involvement in the illegal remittance to North Korea.

Although Lee appealed, the court's decision did not change significantly.

The Suwon High Court upheld the original ruling today (12.19).

However, it reduced Lee's sentence to 7 years and 8 months, which is less than the first trial.

The court stated, "While the money was sent by former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae, Lee has the responsibility for requesting the payment."

The claim from Lee's side regarding "the prosecution's coercion of testimony during drinking sessions" was also dismissed as "difficult to accept."

Lee's side has stated that they will consider filing a further appeal.

[Kim Kwang-min/Attorney for former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young: "How can a statement obtained after being fed alcohol and food be considered a lawful statement...?"]

Previously, the first trial court largely accepted the credibility of Kim's testimony that Lee Jae-myung, the then governor of Gyeonggi Province and current leader of the Democratic Party, was aware of the payment.

However, the court did not make a judgment on Lee's connection to the case, and the appeals court also did not provide a new ruling on this matter.

Currently, Lee Jae-myung is indicted in the same illegal remittance to North Korea case, but the trial has been suspended due to a request from his side to disqualify the judges.

The appeals court's ruling, which maintained the same judgment as the first trial, is expected to affect the trial of Lee Jae-myung, who is facing the same charges.

KBS News, Park Kyung-jun.