The Truth Behind President Lee and the “Illegal North Korea Remittance”—As Revealed by Official Documents and Photos?

[Choice Times=Chang-Won Lee, Contributing Columnist]

This is a photograph from January 17, 2019—the first day of Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young’s trip to China, as documented in his official travel report during the time when Lee Jae-myung was governor of Gyeonggi Province. The trip was part of efforts to arrange a visit to North Korea.

On that first day, Lee Hwa-young signed an agreement with Kim Sung-tae, chairman of Ssangbangwool, and officials from the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee. As seen in the photo, Lee Hwa-young, Song Myung-chol (vice chairman of the committee), and Kim Sung-tae are all present.

Prior to the trip, Lee Hwa-young submitted a formal approval request to then-Governor Lee Jae-myung. The document was approved by Chief of Staff Jung Jin-sang and Governor Lee himself.
The project plan clearly states: “Consultations with relevant parties for the governor’s potential visit to North Korea.”

Following this, Vice Governor Lee made at least two additional trips to China, meeting Kim Sung-tae and others each time. In July of the same year, Gyeonggi Province and the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee co-hosted the 2nd Asia-Pacific International Conference for Peace and Prosperity in the Philippines, with all expenses covered by Ssangbangwool.

President Lee Jae-myung has claimed that he “approved the documents without knowing the details.” However, a tweet he posted on October 25, 2018 suggests otherwise. It shows that he was well aware of Lee Hwa-young’s efforts regarding a North Korea visit. Shortly after this tweet, in 2019, Lee Hwa-young, Kim Sung-tae, and others met North Korean officials to push the plan forward in earnest. During this process, Ssangbangwool allegedly delivered money to North Korea.

While serving as leader of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung is also said to have instructed a Gyeonggi Province official to illegally obtain internal government documents. The documents included an official request sent by Gyeonggi Province to North Korea for Lee’s visit, as well as attachments such as the “List of Inter-Korean Peace Cooperation Projects” submitted under the 2019 Inter-Korean Peace Cooperation Plan.

The date stamped on the official document below—November 27, 2019—coincides with the time when Kim Sung-tae allegedly began smuggling U.S. dollars into China by hiding them in book bindings and other items using Ssangbangwool employees. The total amount reportedly reached $3 million.

This document, issued by Gyeonggi Province, requested that North Korea extend an invitation for Lee Jae-myung’s visit. It is claimed that Lee later illegally removed this document from provincial offices while serving as party leader.

Ironically, recent attention to this case has been revived because aides within the Lee administration—seemingly trying to curry favor—have brought up the so-called “salmon sashimi drinking party incident” once again. In doing so, they have only reignited public interest in the North Korea remittance case, arguably harming rather than helping the president.

Despite all this, it appears unlikely that President Lee will face legal consequences over the matter. The investigative authorities have already been weakened, and, as critics argue, even the opposition party—the People Power Party—has effectively acted as a shield for him.

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