'Alleged Bribery in North Korea Remittance Case': Detention Hearing for Three, Including the President of the Asia Pacific Peace Exchange Association, Set for the 10th

[Financial News] The president of the Asia Pacific Peace Exchange Association, who is embroiled in the so-called 'salmon and liquor party bribery allegations' that surfaced during the investigation into the SBW North Korea remittance case, and other related individuals will undergo a warrant review on the 10th.
According to legal sources on the 8th, Nam Se-jin, a judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, will conduct a pretrial detention hearing (warrant review) on the 10th for Mr. Park, a former SBW director charged with obstruction of official duties by fraud, Bang Yong-chul, a former SBW vice chairman accused of embezzlement, and the president of the Asia Pacific Peace Exchange Association, also charged with embezzlement. Their detention status may be decided as early as that night.
Prosecutors believe that SBW bribed the president of the Asia Pacific Peace Exchange Association to secure his testimony as a trial witness and induce him to change his statements, offering various favors. In addition to paying his legal fees, they reportedly provided an officetel to his daughter and arranged preferential hiring.
The president of the Asia Pacific Peace Exchange Association was sentenced to one year and six months in prison on appeal last February for conspiring with former SBW chairman Kim Sung-tae to remit foreign currency to North Korea. Shortly after his arrest in 2022, he initially testified that the $8 million was for SBW's investment and stock price manipulation, but later changed his statement to say it was for supporting a visit to North Korea by then-Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae Myung. Prosecutors suspect he accepted money from SBW, knowing it was company funds, and changed his testimony in court, leading to charges of embezzlement and breach of trust.
Bang Yong-chul, the former vice chairman who allegedly managed the funds used to bribe the president, and Mr. Park, the former director accused of leading the smuggling of alcohol, have also been charged with embezzlement and breach of trust. In particular, Mr. Park was identified as the person who smuggled banned alcohol to an inmate by deceiving a correctional officer during an investigation by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office last year.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Task Force (TF) of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office is investigating allegations of bribery during the SBW North Korea remittance case. The controversy began last April when Lee Hwa-young, former vice governor for peace of Gyeonggi Province, testified in court that 'there was a salmon and liquor party bribery attempt by prosecutors.'
Although the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office denied the allegations after its own investigation, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) ordered an inspection last September, stating that there was evidence of food and alcohol being provided. Based on this, the TF converted the inspection into a criminal investigation and last month conducted a search and seizure at the headquarters of VIVIEN, an SBW affiliate.
If it is revealed that the president of the Asia Pacific Peace Exchange Association changed his testimony due to bribery or inducement by SBW, Lee Hwa-young, the former vice governor whose prison sentence was finalized by the Supreme Court of Korea in the North Korea remittance case, may seek a retrial under the Criminal Procedure Act.
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter