[Case Story] What Happened During Sang Byunheon's Three-Year Criminal Trial?

Denial of Charges... Attempted False Accusation Against Victim... Two Years of Trial... 'Admission of Guilt'
Three Law Firms, Nineteen Defense Attorneys Resign

Sang Byungheon, a Sejong City council member, voluntarily held a press conference in April last year and made statements denying the charges, expressing his determination to face the trial.

The cases involving forced molestation by a male colleague from the Democratic Party of Korea in the Sejong City Council in August 2022, and another forced molestation case involving a colleague from the People Power Party, recently concluded with the first trial verdict. The result: defendant Sang Byunheon was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison.

This case, which has been under investigation and trial for three years, centered on whether Sejong City Council member Sang Byunheon, who was the council chair in 2022, forcibly molested a colleague by grabbing a specific part of his body.

From the police investigation stage, Sang Byunheon denied the allegations, claiming they were untrue, while the victimized council member consistently maintained his accusation. Sang Byunheon even filed a countercharge against the colleague who claimed to be the victim. However, the prosecution added a charge of false accusation against Sang Byunheon after discovering evidence for it during the investigation of the case he had reported.

With a lack of direct evidence, it was inevitably difficult to determine whose claim was false. Even in ordinary criminal cases, the absence of direct evidence makes investigations more challenging and requires greater caution.

During this process, another forced molestation case involving Sang Byunheon emerged. A colleague from the People Power Party revealed, "I was forcibly kissed by Sang Byunheon." However, Sang Byunheon also denied this allegation.

During the investigation into the forced molestation charges, the prosecution judged that there was a strong case for false accusation and filed additional charges against Sang Byunheon. Since the charge of false accusation was brought, attention was focused on how it would affect the outcome of the case. If Sang Byunheon was also charged with false accusation, his statements might not be considered credible. In other words, the charge of false accusation was viewed as particularly serious.

The prosecution requested a two-year prison sentence, and the court sentenced Sang Byunheon to 1 year and 6 months in prison. Legal experts believe this outcome is related to the seriousness of the charges.

After becoming a defendant, Sang Byunheon ultimately lost his position as council chair. In May 2023, his colleagues held a vote of no confidence regarding his chairmanship. Excluding the three involved in the case, among the remaining 17 council members, 15 voted in favor and 2 against, resulting in the removal of Sang Byunheon from the chairmanship.

Although Sang Byunheon denied the charges at the time, his colleagues judged his actions differently, leading to this outcome. There was considerable controversy over the vote results. Some pointed out that even his fellow Democratic Party members, who held the majority in the council, did not trust him, resulting in a loss of credibility.

Before the trial began, Sang Byunheon held a press conference titled "Position on Facing Trial" to assert his innocence. This inevitably fueled further controversy, as he attempted to sway public opinion before the judiciary had rendered its decision.

◆ The Prosecution’s Indictment as the Exercise of State Penal Authority

The prosecution decided to indict and filed the indictment in May 2023. Having become a defendant, Sang Byunheon denied the charges and contested the allegations in court for two years. Cases in which charges are recognized and indictments are filed are handled under the state’s penal authority, with the prosecution as the authority to impose punishment.

However, since Sang Byunheon did not agree with the prosecution’s allegations, he had to find flaws in the prosecution’s case and prove that his claims matched the truth beyond reasonable doubt. Despite being a typical criminal case, this trial between elected local council members lasted two years, with all three parties being incumbent politicians from both ruling and opposition parties. The defendant’s refusal to accept the charges contributed to the lengthy proceedings. The absence of direct evidence is also believed to have played a role.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the prosecution, exercising the state’s penal authority, summoned the two council members who were victims as witnesses, and the court accepted this, allowing them to testify in court. While they were considered victims during the police investigation, once the indictment was filed, they officially took the stand as witnesses.

As colleagues before being victims, both council members testified about their experiences and requested the court to hold Sang Byunheon accountable. In a phone interview with a reporter, one council member said, "I testified in court as a witness about what happened to me and stated that I wanted him to be punished."

◆ Why the Defendant’s Denial of Charges Continued for Two Years

Sang Byunheon, who had denied the charges due to a lack of direct evidence, suddenly admitted to all the charges during the trial in May. This was effectively a confession. At that time, Sang Byunheon reportedly expressed remorse for causing controversy and stated that he was attempting to reach a settlement with the victims, but was having difficulty due to unmet conditions.

The key question in this case is why Sang Byunheon denied the charges for nearly two years and then changed his position to admit them. As of now, the only objectively confirmed fact is that his legal representatives changed several times, with multiple resignations. Sang Byunheon was represented by three different law firms and a total of 19 lawyers, all of whom resigned. The legal community explains that this was the result of a combination of complex issues.

In particular, the prosecution had to examine whether Sang Byunheon’s actions were intentional in order to maintain the indictment. In some criminal cases, only intentional acts are punishable. Legally, forced molestation requires intent to be established. However, if intent is present, even attempted offenses are punishable. In addition, the false accusation charge against Sang Byunheon involved filing a report against the victimized colleague with the intent of having the victim criminally punished, which strongly indicates intent. A legal expert explained, "If there is no intent, the level of punishment is reduced or there may be no punishment at all. Therefore, the key issue in forced molestation and false accusation cases is to determine, based on the victim’s testimony and the circumstances, whether there was intent."

Given that Sang Byunheon denied the prosecution’s allegations for a long period before admitting them, the seriousness of the crime is considered even greater. Thus, punishment became unavoidable. Under current law, the maximum statutory sentence for forced molestation is 10 years in prison, with a possible fine of up to 15 million won. Similarly, the maximum statutory sentence for false accusation is also up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 15 million won.

There were two separate crimes of the same nature against two victims, and a false accusation charge against one victim. These cases were assigned separate case numbers and proceeded independently. Before the first trial verdict on both charges, the prosecution requested a two-year sentence, and the court sentenced Sang Byunheon to 1 year and 6 months in prison. This verdict is interpreted as the court viewing the defendant’s actions as particularly serious.

On July 24, the day the first trial verdict was delivered, Sang Byunheon immediately filed an appeal with the court. The background for the appeal appears to be an attempt to reach a settlement with the victims and thereby seek a reduction in sentence, as no settlement has been reached so far.