▲ Former Gyeonggido Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young
The appellate trial for former Gyeonggido Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young, who was sentenced to four months in prison in the first trial on charges of perjury after raising allegations about a so-called "salmon and alcohol party" inside the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, is set to begin next month.
According to the legal community, Criminal Appeals Division 2 of the Suwon High Court will hold the first hearing for the former vice governor—who was indicted on charges including violation of the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly and abuse of authority—at 3:30 PM on November 11.
Previously, Lee was sentenced to four months in prison during the first trial's sentencing hearing held on June 20.
At the time, following a ten-day national participation trial—the longest in history—the first-instance court ruled only the perjury charges against the former vice governor to be guilty.
Accepting the jury's unanimous not-guilty verdict, the court acquitted him of charges regarding violations of the Political Funds Act, namely the suspected split-donation allegations. Regarding the abuse of authority charges, the court dismissed the indictment ex officio, pointing out the prosecution's indictment method as an "abuse of prosecutorial power."
Lee's defense counsel appealed the ruling on the grounds of misapprehension of facts, misunderstanding of legal principles, and inappropriate sentencing, while the prosecution also decided to seek a higher court's judgment on charges such as abuse of authority.
Accordingly, the upcoming appellate trial is expected to feature a second legal battle between the two sides over the truthfulness of the "salmon and alcohol party" claims, alongside the legal validity of the prosecution's split indictments.
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