Investigation deadline extended to Aug. 29
Police cite volume of charges, records in interim report to Assembly
Investigators must wrap up within 4-month legal maximum
Police have requested an extension of their investigation into allegations that KH Group Vice Chairman Jo Gyeong-sik and others committed perjury before a special parliamentary investigation committee examining the Ssangbangwool North Korea funds transfer case, after failing to conclude the probe within the statutory two-month deadline.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency submitted an extension request to the National Assembly on June 23, about a week before the original deadline expired, according to the Assembly and other sources.
In the request, the agency said the suspects' statements differed from one another in content and timing, and that the hearings in question ran a combined 27 hours. It added that reviewing court rulings and related case records cited by the complainants had taken considerable time. The agency said additional time was needed to question each suspect individually and bring the investigation to a close.
People Power Party members of the special committee on alleged fabricated indictments under the Yoon administration filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on April 30, accusing four individuals of perjury before the National Assembly: KH Group Vice Chairman Jo, former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Affairs Lee Hwa-young, attorney Nam Wook, and a National Intelligence Service employee identified only by the surname Kim.
Under a revised law on testimony and appraisal before the National Assembly that took effect last October, investigative agencies must conclude probes within two months of receiving a referral from the Assembly. However, if special circumstances exist, the head of the agency may report to the Assembly and request an extension of up to two additional months. The legal maximum for such investigations is therefore four months.
According to documents the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency submitted to the Assembly, police assigned the case to their public crime investigation unit on May 4, five days after receiving the complaint on April 30.
Investigators requested access to case records from the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office — which had handled the original North Korea funds transfer case against Lee under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and related statutes — on May 8, then secured video recordings of the seventh and eighth hearings of the special committee on May 11. On May 28, they reviewed and copied 22 of the 50 boxes of case records held at the Suwon prosecutors' office in a first round of document review.
In June, police submitted an additional document review request to the Suwon prosecutors' office on June 1 and obtained the court ruling in Lee's case, then requested the complainants appear for questioning on June 12. By June 19, they had completed their review and copying of all Suwon prosecutors' office records related to the North Korea funds transfer case.
Having spent the first two months focused on reviewing related records, police secured an additional two months through the extension request. Investigators are expected to move into full-scale questioning of suspects during the extended period.
To establish perjury, police must prove that the suspects knowingly gave false testimony under oath. Police plan to analyze the Suwon prosecutors' records and court rulings while summoning relevant individuals to verify the facts on key disputed issues raised at the hearings — including whether North Korean operative Ri Ho-nam was in the Philippines at the time and the so-called salmon drinking party allegations — sources said.
People Power Party members of the special committee alleged that KH Group Vice Chairman Jo falsely denied the existence of the North Korea funds transfer despite a Supreme Court conviction affirming it, stating that "there was never any such thing as a North Korea funds transfer." They also alleged that Lee denied attending a drinking gathering with former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim in January 2019, and that attorney Nam claimed not to know Jeong Jin-sang, former chief of staff to the Democratic Party leader — testimony the PPP members characterized as false. In addition, they said a statement by the NIS representative that North Korean operative Ri Ho-nam was not in the Philippines from July 24 to July 27, 2019, contradicted testimony from key figures in the case, including the former Ssangbangwool chairman.
Meanwhile, a court ruled on June 20 that the allegations of a "salmon drinking party" by prosecutors — raised by Lee — were unfounded. Lee had testified at a National Assembly hearing in October 2024 that prosecutors investigating the North Korea funds transfer case had plied suspects with raw salmon and alcohol to induce testimony unfavorable to President Lee Jae Myung. The Suwon District Court, in a first-instance ruling delivered as a citizen participation trial, sentenced Lee to four months in prison on charges including perjury before the National Assembly.
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