SBS has obtained a two-page handwritten statement written by former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young, addressing the controversy surrounding reports that he was "very angry at President Lee Jae-myung," in which he stated that "there are parts that differ from my true intentions."

The statement was written today, dated October 8, at the Suwon Detention Center, where former Vice Governor Lee is currently serving a definitive 7-year-and-8-month prison sentence in connection with the Ssangbangwool illegal remittance to North Korea case.


In the statement titled "Prosecutorial Reform Must Lead to Judicial Reform," former Vice Governor Lee began by addressing the remarks made by his legal counsel through a media outlet yesterday, stating, "There are parts that differ from my true intentions, and I would like to correct them."

Previously, a media outlet quoted remarks from former Vice Governor Lee's attorney yesterday, reporting that "former Vice Governor Lee is very angry at President Lee Jae-myung" and that "he feels disappointed about being left neglected for years."

In his statement, former Vice Governor Lee distanced himself from the remarks, saying, "It seems my attorney, Kim Kwang-min, expressed his bitter feelings while watching my long imprisonment."

He added, "Even though the Suwon District Prosecution Service's fabrication regarding the Ssangbangwool remittance to North Korea has been largely exposed through parliamentary investigations and other means, it is frustrating and unfair that the truth-finding process remains delayed."

He also stated, "I also empathize with the anguish of the President, who must be suffering the same pain as I am due to fabricated false charges."

As the controversy grew over former Vice Governor Lee's apparent public criticism of President Lee Jae-myung, it is interpreted that he stepped forward himself to adjust the intensity of the criticism.

In his statement, former Vice Governor Lee reiterated his stance that the remittance case was fabricated by the prosecution and called for a special counsel investigation.

Former Vice Governor Lee urged, "I ask the public to help the special counsel swiftly punish the Suwon District Prosecutors who fabricated falsehoods," and argued, "Punishing prosecutors who committed crimes is a natural course of prosecutorial reform."


He also pointed his criticism toward the court.

Former Vice Governor Lee argued, "The remittance case was fabricated by the prosecution, but it was the court that completed that fabrication," claiming that the court dismissed all evidence that could prove his innocence in the remittance case.

He further wrote, "The current Criminal Procedure Act, which allows judges to deliver guilty verdicts without having to provide reasons for rejecting the exculpatory evidence presented by counsel, enables judicial arbitrariness."

Having had his 7-year-and-8-month prison sentence finalized in June of last year for bribery and other charges related to the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, former Vice Governor Lee has been incarcerated for five years since he was first detained in September 2022 on separate charges including violations of the Political Funds Act regarding the use of Ssangbangwool corporate cards.