Lee Hwa-young Sentenced to 4 Months in Prison for 'Salmon and Alcohol Party' Perjury

[Anchor]

Former Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young has been sentenced to four months in prison in the first trial for perjury, after he claimed that prosecutors offered him salmon and alcohol to coax his testimony during the investigation. This marks the judiciary's first ruling since the so-called "salmon and alcohol party" allegations were raised. The court found Lee's testimony to be inconsistent and lacking credibility.

Reporter Shin Yong-il has the story.

[Reporter]

Appearing as a witness at a National Assembly impeachment hearing for Prosecutor Park Sang-yong in October 2024, former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young alleged the "salmon and alcohol party" incident.

He claimed that during the investigation into the North Korea remittance case in May 2023, Prosecutor Park attempted to influence his testimony to establish a link to then-Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung by providing him with salmon and alcohol.

[Lee Hwa-young/Former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace (October 2024): Prosecutor Park Sang-yong said, 'Let's have a party. It's all done now.' So we had a party, and he brought alcohol. That day, there was sashimi rice, salmon, various fruits, and even soju.]

In response, the prosecution indicted Lee for perjury, asserting that his claims of being provided with alcohol were false.

Following a jury trial, the court found Lee guilty of perjury and sentenced him to four months in prison.

This is the first judicial ruling issued approximately one year and eight months after the allegations were publicly raised.

While the seven jurors were split—four voting for a guilty verdict and three for acquittal—the court ruled for a conviction, stating, "The testimonies of other individuals involved in the prosecutor's office are consistent and mutually corroborating, whereas Lee's testimony lacks consistency and is therefore not credible."

However, the court accepted the jury's unanimous decision to acquit Lee on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, which alleged that he conspired with former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Sung-tae to direct "split donations" to then-Democratic Party presidential primary candidate Lee Jae-myung.

Regarding the charges of abuse of power related to North Korea sapling support, the court dismissed the case, citing an abuse of prosecutorial authority.

In response, Prosecutor Park Sang-yong, the subject of the allegations, expressed his gratitude on social media for the jury's wise decision, while Lee's legal team stated they would appeal, maintaining that the essence of the matter is the coercion of testimony.

(Reported by Jang Woon-seok | Video edited by Jung Yong-hwa | Designed by Kang Yoon-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.