Lee Hwa-young's appeal for "Double Drops of Remittance to North Korea" commuted...7 years and 8 months in prison

Suwon High Court Sentenced Lee Hwa-young to Seven Years and Eight Months in Prison for 'Remittance to North Korea'
One year and 10 months less than the first trial..."I'm not forcing you to pay."
Allegedly paying $8 million to the North to the twin bubble group.

[Anchor]
Lee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of peace in Gyeonggi-do Province who was put on trial for his involvement in the illegal remittance of Ssangbangwool Group to North Korea, was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison by an appeals court.

I'm connecting with the reporter. Reporter Lim Yejin!Please explain the result of sentence



[Reporter]
Yes, the Suwon High Court sentenced Lee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of peace in Gyeonggi Province, to seven years and eight months in prison for his involvement in the case of Ssangbangwool Group's transfer of money to North Korea.

The sentence was reduced by 1 year and 10 months from 9 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial.

The appeals court pointed out that former lieutenant governor Lee is not lighthearted in his responsibilities, such as abandoning fairness and social trust in the execution of public affairs.

However, he explained the background of the sentencing, saying that there is no reason why the former lieutenant governor Lee forced Kim Sung-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, to pay for the expenses.

Former lieutenant governor Lee was put on trial from 2019 to 2020 on charges of transferring $8 million to North Korea in the name of the visit of Lee Jae-myung, then governor of Gyeonggi-do Province, and smart farm projects.

He was also charged with taking about 330 million won in bribes and illegal political funds from former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Sung-tae.

Earlier in June, the first trial court sentenced former lieutenant governor Lee to nine and a half years in prison.

The ruling is also expected to affect the trial of Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, in the case of a third-party bribery case for remittance to the North.

Earlier, CEO Lee filed an application for a judge's challenge to the Criminal Department 11 of the Suwon District Court, which is the court, and the trial has been suspended.

I'm YTN Lim Yejin from the social studies department.