Lee Hwa-young, former Vice Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province who publicly demanded parole, has reportedly met with outside visitors nearly once a day on average since the current administration took office.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Justice to the office of Representative Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party, former Vice Governor Lee had a total of 454 visits over the 16-month period from June 2025, when the current administration took office, to September this year (2026).
Specifically, these included 81 general visits, 353 defense counsel visits, and 20 special visits with changed locations.
Among these, visits with changed locations are conducted in areas without barriers or physical partitions, and are also referred to as "solo visits" or so-called "special visits."
Special visits with changed locations are primarily designed to accommodate physically or socially vulnerable individuals who face difficulties in standard visiting rooms, but they are also used for legal counsel visits when sensitive information must be shared.
Before the Lee Jae-myung administration took office, there were more months without any special visits with changed locations, but from July of last year (2025), immediately after the administration's launch, to March this year (2026), such visits took place almost every month.
Earlier, Representative Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party posted on social media, disclosing that he had met with former Vice Governor Lee on September 23.
In the post, Rep. Song claimed, "I met former Vice Governor Lee at Suwon Detention Center," and said, "I heard vivid accounts of the investigation process regarding the fabricated special counsel probe into the North Korea remittances. I felt once again the urgent need for a special prosecutor into the fabricated indictment."
Former Vice Governor Lee also exchanged letters a total of 172 times from June of last year (2025), around the time the current administration took office, to September this year (2026).
These included 21 outgoing letters and 151 incoming letters.
Former Vice Governor Lee, who is currently serving a prison sentence following his conviction in the SBW (Ssangbangwool) North Korea remittance case, recently sparked controversy after his attorney claimed, "Former Vice Governor Lee is demanding parole from Cheong Wa Dae," and "He is very angry with President Lee."
(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Hong Jin-young | Design by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.