A South Korean court upheld a perjury conviction for Lee Hwa-young, the former vice-governor of Gyeonggi Province, while dismissing charges of abuse of authority [1].
The ruling marks a significant judicial check on the practice of "splitting indictments," where prosecutors file multiple separate charges for the same set of events to increase pressure on defendants. By deeming the abuse of authority charge legally invalid, the court has challenged the prosecution's strategy in high-profile political cases [1].
Lee was the sixth official to be indicted in this specific case [1]. The court found that the prosecution abused its power by filing the separate charge of abuse of authority concerning alleged support for North Korea [1]. While the court rejected that specific charge, it maintained the perjury conviction, which stemmed from a first-instance trial held in February 2023 [1].
According to court records, the perjury conviction involved false statements made over a period of two years and three months [2]. The case also involved Shin Myung-seop, the former director of the Gyeonggi Peace Cooperation Bureau [1].
Park Sang-yong, the Incheon District Prosecutor’s Office deputy chief, said he was grateful for the jury's judgment [1]. However, the ruling creates a legal precedent that may limit how prosecutors structure future indictments in South Korea.
Legal analysts noted that the court's decision to dismiss the charge of abuse of authority was based on the finding that the indictment itself was void [1]. This decision separates the act of lying under oath from the alleged administrative misconduct regarding North Korean relations [1].
“The court found that the prosecution had abused its indictment power”
This ruling represents a rare judicial rebuke of the South Korean prosecution's tactical use of split indictments. By invalidating the abuse of authority charge while upholding the perjury conviction, the court is signaling that procedural maneuvers to multiply charges against a single individual may no longer be tolerated, potentially altering the strategy of future political prosecutions in the country.
