Lee Hwa-young's side "Request for retrial on the 3rd of this month... also considering application for suspension of sentence execution"

Last month, a request was made for an unconstitutionality trial regarding the first trial of citizen participation.

(Suwon = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Sol = The defense team of Lee Hwa-young, former vice-governor of Gyeonggi Province, who is imprisoned for the Ssangbangwool remittance case to North Korea, decided to request a retrial on the 3rd.

Former Deputy Governor Lee's lawyer Ryu Jae-yul told Yonhap News on the 1st, "We plan to submit a request for retrial to the Suwon High Court at 9 a.m. on the 3rd."

It is reported that the total length of the retrial request is approximately 300 pages.

The defense team plans to hold a press conference in front of the Suwon High Court before submitting a request for retrial on the same day and reveal its position.

Meanwhile, on the 23rd of last month, former Deputy Governor Lee separately applied for a review of the unconstitutionality of the law to the appellate court in the so-called 'drinking party perjury' case.

Previously, the first trial court in this case found former Deputy Governor Lee guilty of violating the National Assembly Testimony Act (perjury) among other charges after a 10-day public participation trial, the longest in history, in June and sentenced him to four months in prison.

Former Lieutenant Governor Lee's side is claiming that the provision of the Public Participation Trial Act, which sets the jury's method of finding guilty or not guilty by majority vote, violates the Constitution.

If the court accepts the request and requests the Constitutional Court to adjudicate the unconstitutionality of the law, in principle, the trial in this case will be suspended until the Constitutional Court makes a decision.

Attorney Ryu said, "We are also considering applying to suspend the execution of former Vice Governor Lee's sentence during the future retrial request process."

Former Deputy Governor Lee is currently in prison after being sentenced to 7 years and 8 months in prison by the Supreme Court on charges of Ssangbangwool Group bribery and conspiracy to send money to North Korea.