Appeal in Lee Hwa-young 'salmon drinking party' perjury case to begin next month

The appeal of Lee Hwa-young, the former Gyeonggi Province deputy governor for peace who was sentenced to prison on perjury charges after raising allegations of a so-called "salmon drinking party" at a Suwon prosecutors' office, is set to begin next month.

According to legal sources, the second criminal division of Suwon High Court, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Geon-woo, will hold the first hearing of Lee's appeal on Nov. 11 at 3:30 p.m. Lee faces charges including violation of the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly — perjury — as well as abuse of authority.

Lee was sentenced to four months in prison at the first-instance sentencing hearing on June 20. The trial court found Lee guilty only on the perjury charge, following the longest citizen jury trial in history, which lasted 10 days.

The court acquitted Lee on charges of violating the Political Funds Act — related to allegations of split donations — after accepting the jury's unanimous not-guilty verdict. It also dismissed the abuse-of-authority charges outright, citing the prosecution's indictment method as an abuse of the right to prosecute.

Lee's defense team appealed on grounds of factual error, misapplication of law and excessive sentencing. Prosecutors also decided to seek a higher court's ruling on the dismissed abuse-of-authority charges.

The appeal is expected to center on the legal validity of the prosecution's so-called "split indictment" strategy, as well as a second round of courtroom arguments over the veracity of the "salmon drinking party" allegations.