Key facts
- A former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, Lee Hwa-young, was found guilty of perjury.
- Lee falsely testified that he received alcohol and food during a prosecution interrogation.
A former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, Lee Hwa-young, has been found guilty of perjury by the Suwon District Court for falsely testifying about receiving food and alcohol during a prosecution interrogation. He was sentenced to four months in prison, adding to his existing jail term.
The conviction of a former provincial official for perjury in relation to testimony about alleged political maneuvering and illegal remittances to North Korea highlights ongoing legal and political scrutiny surrounding these matters and potentially implicates higher political figures.
A South Korean court has found Lee Hwa-young, the former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, guilty of perjury for falsely testifying to parliament about receiving food and alcohol during a prosecution interrogation. The Suwon District Court sentenced Lee to four months in prison on Saturday.
Lee had claimed during a 2024 parliamentary hearing that he and Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool, were treated to drinks and food while being questioned by prosecutors. This interrogation was related to their involvement in an alleged illegal remittance of $3.94 million to North Korea between 2019 and 2020.
Lee also alleged that the discussion during the interrogation was aimed at aligning their stories to incriminate President Lee Jae Myung, who was the Gyeonggi governor at the time the unauthorized money transfer allegedly occurred. The court, however, dismissed other charges against Lee, including abuse of power, while acknowledging prosecutorial overreach.
This perjury conviction adds to Lee's existing sentence of seven years and eight months, which he is currently serving for the illegal remittance case, as well as for receiving illicit political funds and bribes from Ssangbangwool in exchange for business deals in North Korea.