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Ssangbangwool subsidiary raided over 'salmon and soju' testimony in North Korean remittance probe

Published: 05 Nov. 2025, 16:55

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul [YONHAP]

A Ssangbangwool subsidiary was raided in an investigation into allegations that prosecutors used salmon and soju in a bid to sway testimony on alleged illegal remittances to North Korea.

The Human Rights Violations Inspection Task Force under the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office began its search and seizure at 9:30 a.m. at the headquarters of lingerie maker Vivien, a Ssangbangwool subsidiary located in the Seobinggo-dong neighborhood in Yongsan District, central Seoul.

The prosecutors' office is investigating former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae and two employees on breach of trust charges, accusing them of using corporate cards for personal expenses. Kim is suspected of having employees use a corporate card on May 17, 2023, to buy alcohol and food for a round of questioning at the prosecutors’ office. Kim was sentenced to two years and six months last year for illegally remitting $8 million to North Korea on behalf of the Gyeonggi government while Lee Jae Myung was governor in 2019.

The alleged purchase using the Ssangbangwool card is seen as a potential lead in the so-called salmon and liquor persuasion claims first raised by former Gyeonggi Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young. He testified in court in April last year that prosecutors investigating the remittance case in Suwon attempted to influence testimony to suggest Lee Jae Myung was involved with “a table with alcohol and food” — reportedly salmon sashimi, hence the scandal's nickname.

The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office denied the accusation, but the Ministry of Justice’s internal investigation found indications that soju and food were indeed brought in, based on visitation transcripts and other materials. The Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office launched a formal inspection in September of this year.

Seoul High Prosecutor General Ku Ja-hyeon said during a parlimentary audit on Oct. 23 that “some aspects of the inspection have been converted into a criminal investigation.”

Lee Hwa-young, former vice governor for peace for the Gyeonggi government, asks for permission to speak during a parliamentary audit held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Oct. 23. [NEWS1]

The Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office is expected to use materials secured in Wednesday’s raid to investigate whether there was in fact an attempt to coax testimony following the questioning. The Democratic Party has claimed during an Oct. 22 National Assembly hearing on prosecution reform that the former vice governor and chairman were questioned in the same prosecutors’ office room. They cited transfer records, corporate card receipts showing payments at restaurants and convenience stores near the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, and argued the gathering was held to secure testimony linking President Lee to the remittance case.

Park Sang-yong, a prosecutor formerly in charge of the case and now a professor at the Legal Research and Training Institute, denied the allegations.

“Such a thing never happened and could never happen," Park said. "The same allegations were raised about a year and a half ago and were dismissed after an internal probe by the Suwon office, a police investigation, a trial and a Supreme Court ruling," he said, noting that the Supreme Court had rejected Lee Hwa-young’s claim about a “salmon and liquor party.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM SEONG-JIN [[email protected]]