Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was indicted without detention on charges of suborning perjury, was acquitted in the first trial.
On the 15th, Lee, who was in crisis after being sentenced to lose his parliamentary seat in the first trial for violating the Public Official Election Act, was able to breathe a sigh of relief. With the acquittal announced that day, voices from the Democratic Party and Lee's supporters blaming the judicial risk surrounding Lee on the prosecution's targeted investigation are expected to grow louder.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is leaving the Seoul Central District Court building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, after the first trial sentencing hearing for the charge of 'suborning perjury' held on the 25th. On that day, the first trial court acquitted Lee, who was indicted on charges of suborning perjury. Photo by Joint Press Corps
The court ruled that "Lee had no intent to suborn perjury or to be the principal offender in perjury"
On the 25th, at the first trial sentencing hearing for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, held by the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Dong-hyun), the court judged all charges against Lee to be not guilty and acquitted him. The court recognized the perjury charge against Kim Jin-sung, a former secretary to the late Kim Byung-ryang, former mayor of Seongnam, who was jointly indicted for perjury after testifying as a witness in Lee's trial, and sentenced him to a fine of 5 million won.
The court stated, "It is difficult to regard the phone calls on December 22 and 24, 2018, and the delivery of the brief of argument as suborning perjury, and it cannot be seen that defendant Lee Jae-myung had the intent to suborn."
Furthermore, "The manner of requesting testimony during each phone call is not significantly different from the usual way of requesting testimony, which involves mentioning what testimony the requester needs and confirming what the witness remembers or knows. Merely mentioning the testimony needed does not constitute a request for perjury," the court judged.
Additionally, "Moreover, Lee, who needed evidence to support his claim that he was falsely accused due to an agreement or conspiracy to make him the principal offender in the Public Official Election Act violation case, explained the situation Lee himself faced during the prosecutor impersonation incident and his doubts about it to Kim Jin-sung, a key aide to Kim Byung-ryang who even acted as a proxy complainant in the prosecutor impersonation case. Providing the brief of argument for confirmation is not against common sense nor beyond the scope of defense rights in the Public Official Election Act violation case," the court said.
The court also judged, "Just because defendant Kim Jin-sung wrote a statement and had phone calls and meetings with lawyer Shin before testifying in this case, it cannot be concluded solely on these grounds that defendant Lee Jae-myung suborned perjury related to this testimony."
Finally, the court concluded, "Even considering each of defendant Kim Jin-sung's first to sixth testimonies individually, it cannot be seen that defendant Lee Jae-myung suborned perjury."
The court reasoned, "Lee's acts of subornation occurred through the aforementioned phone calls, and there is no direct evidence to acknowledge Lee's involvement in the process leading to Kim Jin-sung's testimony in this case. At the time of the phone calls, it appears that Kim Jin-sung had not yet decided whether to testify or the specific content of the testimony. Considering these points, it is difficult to believe that Lee knew or even foreseeably anticipated that Kim Jin-sung would commit perjury, so Lee cannot be said to have had the 'intent as the principal offender' regarding Kim Jin-sung's perjury."
Moreover, "At the time Lee made the phone calls to Kim Jin-sung, it seems undecided whether Kim would testify or the specific content of the testimony. It is insufficient to conclude that Lee knew or could have known that the testimonies were false. The content of the calls does not suggest that Lee requested Kim to give false testimony. Therefore, based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, it is insufficient to conclude that Lee had the intent (intent to suborn) to induce Kim Jin-sung to commit perjury," the court concluded.
On the other hand, the court found that among the six counts of perjury charges against defendant Kim Jin-sung, the testimonies regarding the atmosphere within Kim Byung-ryang's election camp and the withdrawal of the complaint against Choi Cheol-ho lacked proof of crime, but the other testimonies were proven to be criminal, judging four out of six counts as guilty.
Confession of suborned witness Kim Jin-sung and voice call recordings... Legal experts' expectation of guilty verdict missed
Lee was indicted in October last year on charges of suborning perjury, accused of calling Kim Jin-sung during his trial for violating the Public Official Election Act (false statement) in December 2018 and asking him to testify falsely in Lee's favor as a witness.
At that time, Lee was on trial for allegedly making false statements during a TV debate as a candidate for governor of Gyeonggi Province in May 2018, claiming he was "falsely accused" in the prosecutor impersonation case.
The prosecutor impersonation case involved Lee, who was a lawyer in 2002, allegedly conspiring with Choi Cheol-ho, a PD of KBS's 'Chujeok 60 Minutes,' who impersonated a prosecutor while calling Kim Byung-ryang, then mayor of Seongnam, from Lee's office. Lee was accused of providing the name of the prosecutor to impersonate and questions to ask.
Lee was convicted of impersonating a public official in this case and fined 1.5 million won by the Supreme Court in 2004.
However, on May 29, 2018, during the '2018 Local Election Gyeonggi Governor Candidate KBS Invitational Debate,' Lee stated in response to a rival candidate's question about the prosecutor impersonation, "I did not do it; the PD impersonated the prosecutor. I was just being interviewed nearby, so I was falsely accused of helping," and "I never impersonated a prosecutor. I was falsely accused of helping just because I was being interviewed nearby while the PD did it."
The prosecution judged that Lee's statement that he was falsely accused in a case already confirmed guilty by the Supreme Court constituted false information that could influence the election and indicted Lee without detention on December 11, 2018, for violating the Public Official Election Act by false statement. The prosecution's view was that Lee conspired in the prosecutor impersonation by providing the name and questions to impersonate the prosecutor to Choi and, despite being criminally punished, falsely claimed he was not involved.
The prosecution judged that Kim Jin-sung, former secretary to former Mayor Kim Byung-ryang, along with Kim In-seop, former CEO of Korea Housing Technology, agreed to receive money in exchange for facilitating permits related to the Baekhyeon-dong development project. While assisting CEO Jeong Ba-ul with the Baekhyeon-dong project, Kim Jin-sung received multiple calls from Lee around December 2018, requesting testimony that there was an agreement or atmosphere to withdraw the complaint against Choi to frame Lee as the principal offender between Kim Byung-ryang and KBS during the prosecutor impersonation case. Kim In-seop, known as a close aide to Lee, was active as a lobbyist in Baekhyeon-dong.
Kim Jin-sung, who received Lee's request, testified on February 14, 2019, at the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch during Lee's trial for violating the Public Official Election Act. After taking the witness oath, Kim testified that there was an agreement or atmosphere to withdraw the complaint against Choi to frame Lee as the principal offender during the prosecutor impersonation case, although he did not know or remember if such an agreement or atmosphere actually existed. This was the criminal fact stated in Kim's indictment. Lee was acquitted in that trial, maintaining his position as governor of Gyeonggi Province and enabling him to run for president.
The prosecution indicted Kim Jin-sung for perjury and Lee for suborning perjury in October last year.
Kim admitted both to the prosecution and in court that he committed perjury at Lee's request. A voice recording of the phone calls between Kim and Lee was submitted as evidence.
The recordings include Lee telling Kim to "tell everything as it is" and "this is not about reconstructing the case." Lee has argued that these statements show he did not ask Kim to give false testimony. However, legal experts have analyzed that Lee, as a lawyer, might have consciously made these remarks considering the possibility of the calls being recorded.
Among the call contents, Lee's request for Kim to make statements with a specific intent when Kim said he did not remember well is clearly suborning perjury. Moreover, evidence that Lee sent Kim a brief of argument before the testimony to practice desired answers to expected questions emerged, making it difficult for Lee to escape the charges.
Last September, Judge Yoo Chang-hoon, who dismissed the arrest warrant for Lee, stated that the perjury subornation charges seemed to be substantiated. Also, Lee's repeated posts on his Facebook before the sentencing of the Public Official Election Act violation case, claiming innocence and calling the case a "failed subornation," suggest that Lee himself considered the possibility of guilt higher.
Unlike the Public Official Election Act violation charges, even if Lee is found guilty of suborning perjury and fined, he can retain his parliamentary seat. However, if Lee is sentenced to imprisonment for suborning perjury (which does not carry a prison term with labor), he will lose his seat and be disqualified from running for office until the sentence expires. According to the Act on the Execution and Exemption of Sentences, imprisonment exceeding three years requires ten years after completion or exemption for the sentence to expire, and imprisonment of three years or less requires five years.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking to the press after the first trial sentencing hearing for the charge of 'subornation of perjury' held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 25th. On the same day, the first trial court acquitted Lee, who was indicted on charges of subornation of perjury. Photo by Joint Press Corps
Lee expresses gratitude to the court for seeking truth and justice: "Let's do politics that saves people"
At around 1:48 p.m. that day, Lee arrived at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. After greeting Democratic Party lawmakers waiting there, he entered the courthouse without answering any questions from reporters such as "How do you expect the verdict?" or "What is your position on the intent to perjure?"
After news of Lee's acquittal spread, Democratic Party lawmakers and Lee's supporters waiting at the Seoul Central District Court cheered and repeatedly chanted "Lee Jae-myung." Supporters gathered outside the court also shouted slogans like "Stay strong, Lee Jae-myung," hugging each other and sharing joy.
After leaving the courthouse following the acquittal, Lee said, "I thank the court for restoring truth and justice," adding, "The process was truly difficult and long, but compared to the vast ocean, the difficulties I face are like a single grain of sand. Compared to the hardships and pain our people endure, what I experience is insignificant."
He continued, "I will continue to do my best for a better life for our people. I hope politics will no longer be about killing and trampling each other but about coexistence and moving forward together. I want to tell the government and ruling party, 'Let's do politics that saves people rather than politics that kills.'"
Prosecution: "Difficult to accept verdict in light of law and evidence... will review judgment and appeal"
Meanwhile, after the court's acquittal, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office issued a statement saying, "Regarding today's verdict in the suborning perjury case against Lee Jae-myung, the court acknowledged that defendant Kim Jin-sung confessed to false testimony at Lee's request and found Kim guilty of perjury due to Lee's subornation. However, the court acquitted Lee, finding no intent to suborn perjury. This is difficult to accept in light of the law and evidence."
The prosecution added, "We will carefully review the judgment and appeal, and do our best to prove guilt in the appellate trial."
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