Hit-and-Run Driver Framed an Acquaintance, Raising Fears of a Perjury Enforcement Gap After Criminal Procedure Reform

A hit-and-run suspect who persuaded an acquaintance to accept blame continued denying responsibility even after the acquaintance changed his testimony in court. The case has become an example of the enforcement problems prosecutors and lawyers fear after South Korea separates investigations from prosecutions.

The man, identified only as A, allegedly drove an unlicensed motorized bicycle in Anyang, Gyeonggi province, in July 2022 and fled after injuring the victim for six weeks. Rather than surrender, he persuaded an acquaintance, B, to give false testimony. B received a two-year prison sentence at trial, but later told the appeals court that A was the real offender. A nevertheless testified that B had caused the crash.

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Just stay comfortable inside. Outside is war.

The trial prosecutor recognized the perjury, and the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office began investigating. Investigators found that B had not been at the scene and analyzed CCTV footage, phone forensics and call records. They also found that A had visited B in detention and said, “Just stay comfortable inside. Outside is war,” while asking whether B had told his lawyer that he had spoken with A at the time.

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The trial prosecutor already understands the case file and can investigate immediately after confirming perjury, but police would have to review the investigation and trial records again, so it would take a very long time.

A refused to appear for questioning and disappeared for about two years and seven months. Authorities arrested him on the 15th, and he was indicted and detained on the 21st on charges including instigating a criminal to flee, perjury and hit-and-run causing injury.

The article says the case highlights a wider concern. From October 2, prosecutors will lose their direct investigative authority under the revised Criminal Procedure Act. Police and the planned Serious Crime Investigation Agency will handle investigations, while the Prosecution Office will handle indictments and trials. Prosecutors could still ask police to investigate perjury discovered in court, but they would no longer be able to investigate directly. Supreme Prosecutors’ Office data show that prosecutors identified more than 70% of those indicted for perjury last year, including 409 of 574 people. Lawyers also warn that false-accusation cases could become harder to detect, and a current chief prosecutor said the number of cases identified by prosecutors may fall further unless police receive stronger incentives to pursue them.

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Perjury and false-accusation cases were important areas in evaluating trial prosecutors, but now that requests for police investigations will become mandatory, the structure itself will inevitably require more time and energy.