EXCLUSIVE: Polygraph Report Suggests High Probability of Truth in Lee Hwa-young's 'Drinking' Allegations

SBS has obtained a polygraph examination report indicating that the testimony of Lee Hwa-young, former Vice Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province, claiming he "drank alcohol in the prosecution's interrogation room" in connection with the so-called "salmon and alcohol party" allegations, is highly credible.

According to the integrated psychological analysis report on Lee, conducted by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Forensic Science Department and obtained by SBS, both the physiological response examination and behavioral analysis during the polygraph test concluded that Lee's statements were highly credible.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office investigated whether soju was brought into the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office interrogation room 1313 or the video recording room on May 17, 2023—the date the "salmon and alcohol party" controversy allegedly occurred—and whether Lee and former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Sung-tae consumed the alcohol.

The report, dated April 30, concluded that Lee's statement that he "drank alcohol in the video recording room of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office room 1313 on May 17, 2023" is likely true. The primary basis for this conclusion was the psychophysiological examination results.

Psychophysiological examination works on the principle of detecting lies by monitoring changes in physiological responses caused by psychological stress when a subject fears their lie will be exposed. The report stated that no significant anomalies were detected in Lee's physical responses during the examination.

These findings from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office were submitted to the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office's Human Rights Violation Task Force, which has been investigating the allegations since last year, and the results were used as evidence in disciplinary proceedings against Prosecutor Park Sang-yong.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated that they repeated the same questions more than three times to verify the consistency of Lee's physiological responses.

The office also determined that Lee's testimony was highly credible based on behavioral analysis, noting that no behavioral signals typically associated with intentional distortion of facts were observed while he answered questions regarding the alleged drinking.

The report added that Lee was fully aware of the possibility that his memory could have been contaminated while recalling the events during the interrogation, and that he answered "I am not sure" regarding parts where his memory was unclear.

Furthermore, the report explained that "behavioral patterns typically seen in individuals distorting or concealing facts were not detected."

The Seoul High Prosecutors' Office Task Force recently submitted this report to the Suwon District Court, which is presiding over the jury trial regarding charges including perjury against Lee. The contents are expected to be used as reference material for the jurors' deliberations.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.