Lee Hwa-young’s appeal trial in ‘salmon drinking party’ perjury case to begin on the 11th of next month; sentenced to four months in prison in first trial

[Financial News] The appeal trial of Lee Hwa-young, the former Gyeonggi Province vice governor for peace who raised allegations of a so-called ‘salmon drinking party in a prosecutor’s office at Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office’ and was sentenced to prison in the first trial on a perjury charge, will begin next month.
According to legal sources on the 1st, the Suwon High Court’s Criminal Division 2, presided over by Judge Kim Geon-woo, set the first hearing in the appeal of the former vice governor, who was indicted on charges including violating the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly (perjury) and obstruction of the exercise of rights by abuse of authority, for 3:30 p.m. on the 11th of next month. The hearing will take place about six months after the first-instance verdict was issued on June 20.

In the first-instance trial, which was conducted as a ten-day Korean Jury Trial—the longest on record—the court found Lee guilty only of perjury related to the ‘salmon drinking party’ among his several charges and sentenced him to four months in prison. At the time, four of the seven jurors returned a guilty verdict, finding that the drinking gathering Lee had claimed took place did not exist, and the court respected their verdict. In the first trial, the Prosecution Service had sought a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 5 million won.
By contrast, the court accepted the jury’s unanimous not-guilty verdict on the charge of violating the Political Funds Act over allegations of ‘split donations’ involving President Lee Jae Myung’s support committee, and acquitted him. As for allegations that he issued improper instructions to Gyeonggi Province officials to provide geumsong saplings and flour to North Korea—including obstruction of the exercise of rights by abuse of authority, obstruction of official duties by deceptive means, and violation of the Local Finance Act—the court described the Prosecution Service’s practice of filing separate indictments as an ‘abuse of prosecutorial authority’ and dismissed the charges on its own authority.

The appeal is proceeding because both sides challenged the ruling. Lee’s side appealed the guilty portion, citing errors of fact and law and an unfair sentence, while the Public Prosecution Office (then the Prosecution Service) filed an appeal over the dismissed charges, including abuse of authority, seeking a ruling from a higher court. The appeal is therefore expected to bring a fierce second courtroom battle over whether the ‘salmon drinking party’ claim is true and whether the Public Prosecution Office’s ‘charge-splitting’ was justified.
The court’s decision on Lee’s side’s request for a referral for constitutional review is also seen as a key factor. On the 23rd of last month, Lee’s side asked the appeals court to refer the matter for constitutional review, arguing that the provision in Article 46, Paragraph 3 of the Korean Jury Trial Act—which provides for a majority guilty verdict when the jury cannot reach unanimity—is unconstitutional. If the court accepts the request and refers the matter to the Constitutional Court of Korea, the appeal trial will be suspended until the Constitutional Court issues its decision.
Meanwhile, Lee was indicted, among other things, on suspicion of giving false testimony at an October 2024 impeachment hearing held by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee concerning the impeachment of Park Sang-yong, a deputy chief prosecutor at Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office. He allegedly testified falsely that, during the investigation into Ssangbangwool’s remittance to North Korea, the Prosecution Service tried to induce statements by providing salmon, alcohol and other items.


[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter