Ewhayeong Jeon Sentenced to 4 Months for 'Salmon Alcohol Party' Perjury... Acquitted of Political Funds Act, Abuse of Authority Dismissed

Suwon District Court Delivers Verdict After 9.5-Hour Overnight Deliberation
Citizen Jury Trial Concludes After Ten Days

Ewhayeong Jeon, the former Deputy Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province, who was indicted on charges of perjury in the National Assembly and other offenses after raising the so-called "salmon alcohol party" allegations, has been sentenced to four months in prison in the longest-ever first-instance jury trial involving citizen participation.

Ewhayeong, former Deputy Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

On June 20, at the Suwon District Court's 11th Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Song Byunghoon), the court sentenced Jeon to four months in prison for violating the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly (perjury) during the sentencing hearing of the citizen jury trial. In contrast, he was acquitted of violating the Political Funds Act, and the court dismissed the indictments for abuse of authority, obstruction of the exercise of rights, obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means, and violation of the Local Finance Act.

Both the court and the jury found Jeon guilty of perjury regarding the so-called "salmon alcohol party" allegations. The jury's verdict was split, with four voting guilty and three not guilty. However, the court finalized the guilty verdict, stating, "While the statements of the relevant parties in the prosecutor's office were consistent and corroborated each other, the defendant's statements lacked consistency and credibility."

On the other hand, regarding the alleged collusion with former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seongtae to split political donations (violation of the Political Funds Act), all seven jurors unanimously found Jeon not guilty, stating, "There is insufficient evidence to dispel reasonable doubt," and the court accepted this verdict.

Regarding the charges of abuse of authority related to the provision of saplings and flour to North Korea, the court dismissed the indictment ex officio. Initially, the jury ruled (2 yes, 5 no) that there was no abuse of prosecutorial authority in the abuse of authority charge, but the court overturned this decision on legal grounds. Citing a related case (a partial guilty verdict in the first-instance trial of former Director Shin Myungseop of the Gyeonggi Province Peace and Cooperation Bureau), the court noted, "When indicting former Director Shin, the prosecution listed a conspiracy with Jeon in the indictment despite having no evidence to prove such a relationship." The court further stated, "Every citizen should be able to fully exercise their right to defense in their own criminal case and be judged accordingly," adding, "Having someone found guilty in another person's trial before they are even indicted is a clear abuse of prosecutorial authority."

Jeon's defense team expressed strong regret over the guilty verdict on the perjury charge and announced their intention to appeal in front of reporters at the courthouse. The defense argued, "During the National Assembly hearing, Jeon testified for 40 minutes, but the prosecution cherry-picked a single minute mentioning 'bringing in alcohol' to force the indictment," emphasizing, "He has consistently maintained that there was a party, with only his recollection of the date being unclear." The defense also stated they would contest the substantive innocence or guilt regarding the North Korea support (abuse of authority, etc.) charges, which the court dismissed ex officio, in the appellate court.

This trial was unprecedented, lasting ten consecutive days (excluding weekends) from June 8, with court sessions running from morning until late at night. The presiding judge expressed deep gratitude to the citizen jurors, saying, "I sincerely thank the citizen judges who earnestly engaged in the proceedings to ensure there was no injustice for the defendant, even though they could not enjoy the blue sky or a cool coffee for ten days."

Previously, during the final arguments, the prosecution had requested a two-year prison sentence for Jeon's perjury and abuse of authority charges, and a separate fine of 5 million won for violating the Political Funds Act. Jeon, already serving a confirmed sentence of seven years and eight months in prison from the Supreme Court for the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case and other charges, will now serve an additional prison term.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.