A former senior official of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun) pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Thursday to charges of embezzling more than 800 million yen.
Kang Young Kwan, 67, Chongryun's former financial bureau head, denied that he misappropriated the money from the now-defunct Chogin Tokyo Credit Union's funds.
"I cannot help thinking that (police) compromise themselves for people with a special interest and arrested me and raided the headquarters of Chongryun," he told the Tokyo District Court.