PPP hammers Lee Jae Myung over reports of parole demand by jailed ex-official

The People Power Party intensified its attacks on President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday amid reports that Lee Hwa-young, the former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province serving prison time in the so-called SBW illicit North Korea funds transfer case, had demanded a parole from the president.

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said at a supreme council meeting Thursday that Lee Hwa-young had "insisted all along that the illegal North Korea funds transfer was a solo act, but now it seems he's ready to blow something up if he doesn't get paroled."

Jang said the United States had refused to receive the National Intelligence Service director and was blocking the dispatch of NIS personnel. "If the Korea-US alliance collapses, South Korea's national defense will inevitably collapse with it," he said. "Nothing but landmines lie ahead for President Lee. Even just one — the 'Lee Hwa-young landmine' — going off would make it very hard for him to hold on."

PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik also said the former vice governor was "openly threatening the president," adding that "the structure of this case means the president, as the ringleader, will inevitably receive a heavier sentence than Lee, the accomplice."

Jeong warned that "if President Lee consistently shows no interest in a pardon, the former vice governor may make unfavorable testimony in future proceedings." He said the two men were "caught in a prisoner's dilemma — whether to cooperate with each other or betray each other."

Jeong also said the North Korea funds transfer trial "is entangled with North Korea itself," adding that he was "deeply suspicious of whether this case has given Kim Jong-un leverage over" the president.

Supreme council member Shin Dong-wook said he had "never once seen a case where someone directly demands a parole from the president," and pressed Cheong Wa Dae to "declare immediately and without reservation that Lee Hwa-young will not be paroled."

PPP lawmaker Na Kyung-won, appearing on SBS Radio, said the former vice governor "must be seething with resentment right now," adding that from the president's perspective, "releasing him is not an option, but keeping him locked up means Lee Hwa-young's mouth is something to fear."

PPP chief spokesperson Choi Bo-yun said in a statement that if the SBW illicit North Korea funds transfer case truly had nothing to do with the president, "what exactly does the former vice governor feel so aggrieved about?" She said Lee Hwa-young owed the public an explanation for "why he is sending letters to the president, conveying demands to Cheong Wa Dae, and yet saying he has been 'neglected' and feels 'wronged.'"

Lee Hwa-young is currently serving a sentence of seven years and eight months handed down by the Supreme Court on charges of accepting bribes worth more than 100 million won ($72,000) from SBW Group and conspiring in the transfer of $8 million to North Korea. In June, an additional four-month sentence was added on perjury charges related to the so-called "salmon drinking party" incident.