Why Lee Hwa-young Received a Perjury Conviction Despite a 'Truthful' Polygraph Result

A South Korean court has convicted former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young of perjury, rejecting his defense that his testimony about a "liquor party" at a prosecutor's office was based on memory and supported by a polygraph test. The conviction stems from statements Lee made during a parliamentary hearing in October 2024, where he claimed alcohol was served at the Suwon District Prosecutor's Office.

The court found that while testimonies from other individuals present during the investigation were largely consistent and corroborated each other, Lee's own statements were marked by a lack of coherence. This inconsistency led the court to deem his testimony unreliable and conclude that he had intentionally provided false information.

Lee's defense team had presented the polygraph test results as a key piece of evidence, arguing that even under psychological stress, Lee's responses indicated truthfulness. They contended that his parliamentary statement reflected his genuine recollection of events, not a deliberate attempt to mislead. This defense aimed to establish that any discrepancies were due to memory errors rather than intentional falsehood, a crucial distinction in perjury cases.

However, the court prioritized the consistency of other witnesses' accounts over the polygraph results. The judges determined that the evidence pointed to Lee knowingly making false statements, thus fulfilling the criteria for perjury. The verdict, which included a four-month prison sentence, highlights the court's skepticism towards polygraph evidence as a definitive determinant of truth in criminal proceedings, especially when contrasted with more traditional forms of corroborating testimony.