A South Korean court convicted Lee Hwa-young, former Gyeonggi-do Peace Department head, of perjury on Saturday for making false allegations against prosecutors [1, 2].
The verdict concludes a high-profile legal battle over the integrity of the North Korea money-transfer investigation. The case tested whether prosecutors used illicit incentives to sway witness testimony during a sensitive political probe.
Lee had previously testified at a National Assembly hearing in October 2024 that prosecutors held a “salmon-and-alcohol party” [2]. She alleged that officials provided these items to influence her statements during the investigation into illegal funds sent to North Korea [1, 2].
The court found Lee's testimony to be inconsistent and determined that she deliberately lied about the event [1, 2]. Based on these findings, the first-instance trial court sentenced Lee to imprisonment for perjury [1, 2].
This case marked the longest citizen-participation trial in South Korean history [1]. The legal process included 18 preparatory hearings before the final verdict was delivered [2]. The trial spanned 10 days, with four of those days being the longest sessions [1].
Park Sang-yong, a deputy chief prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office, responded to the ruling. "I am grateful for the jury's judgment," Park said [2].
The decision follows a rigorous examination of the evidence by a citizen-jury panel, which ultimately rejected Lee's narrative regarding the prosecutors' conduct [1, 2].
“The court found Lee’s testimony inconsistent and concluded she deliberately lied about the alleged party.”
This conviction reinforces the legal protections for prosecutors against allegations of witness tampering in high-stakes political cases. By utilizing a citizen-jury panel for the longest such trial in the nation's history, the court sought to provide a transparent validation of the judicial process and dismiss the narrative that the North Korea money-transfer probe was compromised by misconduct.
