Photo : YONHAP News
Former Democratic Party(DP) leader Song Young-gil, who has been detained in connection to a bribery scandal surrounding the party’s 2021 leadership election, has said he plans to go on a hunger strike after his request for bail was rejected.
Song’s lawyer claimed on Tuesday that Song’s political rights had been infringed upon with the rejection of bail, before conveying Song’s plan to go on a hunger strike and refuse trial as part of efforts to exercise his right of resistance.
Song, who has formed a new party ahead of the general elections, arrived at the Seoul Central District Court on Monday for his trial but failed to appear in court, saying he needed therapy due to the shock of his bail being denied.
The move led the court to postpone Song’s trial to Wednesday.
Song is accused of involvement in the distribution of cash-filled envelopes totaling 60 million won to some sitting DP lawmakers and regional party heads ahead of a 2021 party race which Song won.
He also allegedly received illegal political funds totaling 763 million won from seven people through an external sponsor group between January 2020 and December 2021.
After he was detained in January, Song created the Sonamoo Party and declared he will run in Gwangju’s Seo-A district in the April 10 general elections.
He requested bail at the end of February but the Seoul Central District Court rejected the request last Friday, citing the risk of evidence tampering.
