Lee Jae-myung's Trial on Illegal North Korean Funds to Resume Soon

On March 21, Lee Jae-myung (이재명), the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (더불어민주당), visited a sit-in protest site near Gwanghwamun in Seoul, calling for the immediate resignation of President Yoon Suk-yeol (윤석열) and social reforms. On the same day, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office submitted a request to the court to expedite the trial of Lee, who has been indicted in connection with the 'illegal remittance to North Korea' case involving the Ssangbangwool Group (쌍방울).

The trial, which was initiated in June 2022, has been stalled since December 2022 due to a request from Lee's legal team to replace the presiding judges, citing concerns over an unfair trial. As a result, the proceedings have not commenced for nine months.

According to legal sources, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office has filed a scheduling request with the 11th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court, presided over by Judge Song Byeong-hoon (송병훈), to set a date for the trial.

Lee's legal team previously argued that the judges should be replaced due to potential bias, which led to a suspension of the trial until the court made a final decision on the matter. However, on February 11, the court dismissed this request, stating that the judges had changed due to regular personnel rotations, thus invalidating the reasons for the recusal. The court subsequently sent the dismissal notice to Lee and his attorneys, who confirmed receipt on February 13-14.

Despite this, the notice was not delivered to Lee himself, as it was reported that he was not home during the delivery attempts, a situation referred to as '폐문부재' (closed door due to absence). After three failed attempts to deliver the notice, the court dispatched an enforcement officer to Lee's residence in Incheon, but the same issue persisted. Over the course of a month following the dismissal, Lee did not receive the notice on six occasions.

Some legal analysts suggest that the trial's delay is due to Lee not receiving the dismissal notice, which means the court's decision has not taken effect, preventing the trial from proceeding. However, Lee Geon-tae (이건태), a legal spokesperson for the Democratic Party, stated on March 20 that the inability to deliver the notice was unrelated to the trial's delay, asserting that the notice's effectiveness was still valid since it was received by his attorney.

There are no clear legal regulations regarding the effectiveness of notice delivery, and one legal expert noted that the effectiveness of such notices is determined by the presiding court's judgment.

The prosecution's request to resume the trial is based on the stance of Lee's legal team. Since his indictment in June 2022, only four preparatory hearings have taken place, during which Lee was not required to attend.

Lee is accused of facilitating illegal payments to North Korea in exchange for assistance with the Ssangbangwool Group's North Korean projects, including a $5 million smart farm project and $3 million for his own visit to North Korea, totaling $8 million. The prosecution alleges that Lee received bribes amounting to $8 million from Ssangbangwool to gain political advantages through these dealings.