Prosecutors appeal only dismissal of North Korean aid charges against ex-official Lee Hwa-young

Prosecutors have appealed a district court's decision to dismiss charges against former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young related to North Korean aid. The court had cited prosecutorial abuse of power in its ruling, stating that Lee was forced to defend himself without being tried alongside co-defendants. Prosecutors argue this decision contradicts established legal precedents regarding the separate indictment of co-conspirators and that there were reasonable grounds for indicting Lee separately. They seek a higher court's judgment on this matter. However, prosecutors will not appeal the guilty verdict for perjury related to an alleged "salmon drinking party" or the not-guilty verdict for violating the Political Funds Act. They stated they respect the jury's decisions on these counts. Lee's defense team has also appealed the perjury conviction, citing factual and legal errors. The decision to drop the appeal on the political funds charges has drawn criticism from some prosecutors, who believe it was an unjustifiable move that the prosecution should have contested.

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Prosecutorial abuse of power.

The initial ruling by the Suwon District Court's jury trial found that indicting Lee separately after first prosecuting Shin, a former director in the Gyeonggi Province Peace Cooperation Bureau, was an abuse of prosecutorial power. The court reasoned that Lee was convicted in a case where he could not exercise his defense rights. The prosecution's stance is that the court misinterpreted the practice of prosecuting co-defendants separately, which is common in corruption investigations. They believe the court's decision could impact future investigations into similar cases.

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The trial court's judgment that the defendant was convicted without exercising his right to defense in a case where he was not indicted is a clear abuse of prosecutorial power.

Regarding the other charges, the jury found Lee guilty of perjury in the salmon drinking party case by a 4-3 vote, while all seven jurors found him not guilty of violating the Political Funds Act. Despite the prosecution's decision not to appeal these verdicts, the salmon drinking party allegations may resurface in the appellate court due to Lee's own appeal against the perjury conviction.

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The court's judgment that the defendant was convicted without exercising his right to defense in a case where he was not indicted is a clear abuse of prosecutorial power.