Suwon: Prosecutors on Thursday asked an appellate court to sentence Lee Hwa-young, former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, to 15 years in prison over allegations of accepting substantial bribes from Ssangbangul Group and involvement in an unauthorized remittance case to North Korea. Prosecutors requested the Suwon High Court sentence Lee to 15 years in prison, impose a fine of 1 billion won (US$737,400), and order the confiscation of about 334 million won over bribery and violations of the Political Fund Act and the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee was indicted in October 2022 on charges of receiving political funds amounting to over 330 million won, including bribes totaling over 250 million won, from the group between July 2018 and July 2022. These funds were purportedly provided through methods such as corporate card and vehicle usage, as well as false salary payments to his associates.

In June, the Suwon District Court sentenced Lee to nine years and six months
in prison, and imposed a fine of 250 million won on him and ordered the forfeiture of 326 million won. Lee appealed the ruling. The North Korea remittance case involves allegations that the group paid approximately $5 million to North Korea in 2019, which was promised by Gyeonggi Province to support a smart farm project, as well as $3 million for the expenses of the then governor, now Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, during his visit to North Korea.