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Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung heads into the Seoul Central District Court on June 7, 2024, for his trial on breach of trust charges. (Yonhap)

Prosecutors indicted Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday on charges of alleged involvement in transfers of funds to North Korea by the SBW Group.

The indictment came five days after Lee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, received a stiff sentence in his first trial on charges of bribery and the transferring of funds to North Korea.

On Wednesday, a criminal division of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Lee Jae-myung without detention on charges that included third-party bribery and violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act.

The prosecutors believe that while serving as governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2019, Lee received a report on the SBW Group’s transfer of funds to the North via Lee Hwa-young and granted his approval.

Last Friday, the Suwon District Court handed Lee Hwa-young a sentence of nine years and six months in prison. He was accused of involvement in former SBW Group Chairperson Kim Seong-tae’s delivery to North Korea of US$5 million in smart farm project funds pledged by Gyeonggi Province and US$3 million in expenses for then-governor Lee Jae-myung’s visit to the North.

Following their analysis of the court’s ruling in that case, the prosecutors determined that Lee Jae-myung was also involved in the transfer of funds.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Lee Jae-myung said, “The prosecutors are showing less and less creativity.”

“With even the slightest scrutiny, the South Korean public will easily see how ridiculous this case is,” he added.

By Lee Jun-hee, staff reporter

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