Third hearing for former Division Commander Im Sung-geun held
“Core testimony: had a meal together in Gangnam”
Former CEO Lee Jong-ho denies the meeting itself
Special counsel focuses on whether the two had prior ties
Actor Park Sung-woong posing. Photo by Lee Sun-Myung 57km@kyunghyang.com
Political circles are focused on what actor Park Sung-woong will say.
According to the legal community on the 8th, Criminal Division 22 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Hyung-woo) is holding the third hearing for former 1st Marine Division Commander Im Sung-geun this afternoon and will conduct a witness examination of Park Sung-woong.
The court had summoned Park Sung-woong on the 25th of last month, but he submitted a statement of nonattendance due to scheduling issues, and the date was postponed once.
Park Sung-woong testified to the special counsel for the fallen Marine case in September last year, stating, “Around August to September 2022, at a location in the Gangnam area of Seoul, I had a meal with former Black Pearl Investment CEO Lee Jong-ho and former Division Commander Im.”
This testimony could be interpreted as indicating that former Division Commander Im and former CEO Lee had built a relationship before the incident, drawing criticism that it conflicts with their previous explanations.
Former CEO Lee has faced allegations that he served as the manager of First Lady Kim Keon Hee’s account during the Deutsche Motors stock-manipulation case. He has also been accused of leading lobbying efforts to save former Division Commander Im.
Based on the testimony by Park Sung-woong and other material, the special counsel suspects that former CEO Lee and former Division Commander Im met multiple times in the second half of 2022.
In response, the agency representing Park Sung-woong stated, “It was a simple meal he attended at the invitation of an acquaintance, and the two met for the first time and had no subsequent personal contact,” taking a firm line. This is interpreted as an attempt to preemptively block entanglement in lobbying allegations in political circles as a celebrity.
By contrast, the side of former CEO Lee denied that the meeting occurred at all and even asked investigative authorities to conduct a face-to-face cross-examination with Park Sung-woong to ascertain the truth.
In court today, Park Sung-woong is expected to testify about who the ‘entertainment-industry acquaintance’ was who invited him to the 2022 meal and what the nature of the gathering was.
