▲ Former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young
Lee Hwa-young, the former Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province who was indicted on charges including perjury before the National Assembly for raising allegations of a "salmon and drinking party," has been sentenced to four months in prison in the first trial of the longest-ever jury trial in South Korean history.
He was acquitted of the political funds law violation charges indicted alongside the perjury, while the court dismissed charges of abuse of power related to aid to North Korea, ruling that the prosecution had abused its power to indict.
During the sentencing hearing of the jury trial for the former vice governor, held by the Criminal Division 11 of the Suwon District Court (presiding judge Song Byeong-hun), the court sentenced Lee to four months in prison for violating the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly (perjury).
On the other hand, the court acquitted him of violating the Political Funds Act and dismissed the charges of abuse of power to obstruct the exercise of rights, obstruction of official duties by hierarchy, and violation of the Local Finance Act.
This outcome reflects the court's maximum respect for the mixed verdicts delivered by the seven-member jury after an overnight marathon deliberation lasting 9 hours and 30 minutes, which began at 6 p.m. yesterday (June 19).
The court and the jury found Lee guilty of perjury regarding the so-called "salmon and drinking party," which had been the biggest flashpoint of the trial.
While the jury was closely split with four voting guilty and three voting not guilty, the court finalized the guilty verdict, stating, "The statements of those involved who were in the prosecutor's office are consistent and mutually supportive, whereas the defendant's statements lack consistency and credibility."
Conversely, regarding the allegation of conspiring with former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae for "split donations" (violation of the Political Funds Act), all seven jurors unanimously delivered a not guilty verdict, stating that "it was not sufficiently proven beyond a reasonable doubt," which the court accepted.
In particular, the court dismissed the charges of abuse of power related to the provision of tree saplings and flour to North Korea on its own authority.
Initially, the jury had ruled that the prosecution did not abuse its power regarding the abuse of power charge (2 voting yes, 5 voting no), but the court overturned this decision on its own authority, citing legal grounds.
Referring to a related case (where Shin Myeong-seop, former director of Gyeonggi Province's Peace and Cooperation Bureau, was found partially guilty in his first trial), the court pointed out, "Even though there was no evidence to prove a conspiratorial relationship with former Vice Governor Lee when the prosecutor indicted Shin, the conspiracy was still written into the indictment."
The court added, "Every citizen must be judged only after fully exercising their right to defense in their own criminal case. Making someone receive a judgment of a guilty nature in another person's trial before they are even indicted is a clear abuse of the prosecution's power to indict."
Immediately after the sentencing, the defense team for the former vice governor met with reporters outside the courtroom, expressing deep regret over the guilty verdict for perjury and announcing their intention to appeal.
The defense team argued, "During the National Assembly hearing at the time, the former vice governor testified for 40 minutes, and they singled out only the 'bringing in of alcohol' part, which was mentioned for just about one minute, to make a forced indictment," adding, "He has consistently maintained the fact that the drinking party took place, and only his memory of the exact date was unclear."
They emphasized, "The former vice governor even showed a 'truthful response' in a lie detector test. He testified to a fact that clearly exists in his memory, and it is difficult to accept that this is being punished as intentional perjury."
They also made it clear that they would contest the substantive guilt or innocence regarding the North Korea aid charges (abuse of power, etc.), which the court dismissed on its own authority, in the appellate court.
The defense attorney added, "Today, the jury reached a unanimous 7-0 verdict of not guilty regarding the substantive truth of the charges, but the court prioritized procedural judgment to dismiss the prosecution. We will appeal this part as well to secure an acquittal rather than a formal dismissal."
The trial was held under an unprecedented schedule, running every day from morning until late at night for ten days, excluding weekends, starting on June 8.
Before delivering the sentence, the presiding judge bowed and said, "I would like to express my deep gratitude to the citizen judges who worked earnestly for 10 days, without even being able to fully look at the blue sky or enjoy a cold coffee, to ensure there was not a single point of unfairness for the defendant."
Previously, in the final hearing, the prosecution had demanded a two-year prison sentence for Lee's perjury and abuse of power charges, and a separate fine of 5 million won for the violation of the Political Funds Act.
Lee, who is already serving a finalized sentence of 7 years and 8 months in prison upheld by the Supreme Court for his previous cases, including the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, has now added another prison term to his sentence.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.