Jury Deliberations Begin in 'Salmon and Alcohol Party' Perjury Trial

[Anchor]

The jury trial for Lee Hwa-young, the former Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province for Peace, who is currently serving a seven-year and eight-month prison sentence for the Ssangbangwool Group's North Korea remittance case, is concluding today (June 19). He is facing charges including alleged perjury regarding the so-called "salmon and alcohol party" at the prosecutor's office. Let's connect with our reporter at the courthouse.

Reporter Yoo Soo-Hwan, when did the closing arguments conclude?

[Reporter]

The closing arguments for the jury trial of former Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young, which began this morning, concluded about two hours ago.

The jury, composed of seven ordinary citizens, is currently in deliberations.

The verdict is expected to be reached around midnight.

The key issues in this trial are: first, whether there were so-called "split donations" to the support committee for Lee Jae-myung, the then-Gyeonggi Governor and Democratic Party presidential primary candidate, and whether the former vice governor was involved; second, whether the former vice governor abused his power to force public officials to perform duties they were not obligated to do during the process of Gyeonggi Province's support for North Korea, such as providing tree saplings; and third, the most contentious issue.

That is whether the so-called "salmon and alcohol party" at the prosecutor's office actually took place, and whether the former vice governor committed perjury during a National Assembly hearing.

Earlier today, the prosecution in the morning and the former vice governor's legal team in the afternoon each delivered their final statements, focusing on persuading the jury.

[Anchor]

The prosecution requested a prison sentence; what did the former vice governor say in his final statement?

[Reporter]

The prosecution stated that all charges against the former vice governor are proven and requested a sentence of two years in prison and a fine of 5 million won.

On the other hand, the former vice governor denied all charges in his final statement, repeatedly claiming that "the prosecution conducted an unreasonable investigation to build their own achievements."

The court plans to deliver its first-instance ruling based on the jury's verdict.

However, the court is not legally bound to follow the jury's verdict, so the final ruling may differ from the jury's decision.

(On-site production: Seo Jin-ho, Video editing: Jung Yong-hwa)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.