Han Donghoon Warns President Lee: "If You Try to Eliminate Your Own Trial, Impeachment Is the Only Outcome"

Lee Hwa-young Sentenced to Four Months in Prison for Perjury over "Salmon Drinking Party" Allegations

On June 20, independent lawmaker Han Donghoon commented on the sentencing of Lee Hwayoung, former Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who was indicted for perjury after raising suspicions over the so-called 'salmon and alcohol party.' Lee was sentenced to four months in prison in the first trial by a jury, and Han stated, "The 'festival of false accusations' that the entire Lee Jaemyung Democratic Party administration participated in has come to an end."

Yonhap News Agency

On Facebook the same day, Assemblyman Han issued a warning to President Lee, saying, "I warn President Lee once again: if you persist in using your power to eliminate your own trial, the only outcome for enemies of democracy is impeachment and disaster."

Han further stated, "Those who orchestrated this 'festival of false accusations' must be held accountable. There have been cowardly parliamentary investigations that could not even summon me as a witness, and even attempts to push for a special prosecutor to drop the charges, but none of these efforts could cover up the simple truth that the money given to North Korea by Ssangbangwool was 'in exchange for Lee Jaemyung’s visit to North Korea.'"

Earlier, in a jury trial held at the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 11 (presiding judge Song Byunghoon), the court sentenced former Vice Governor Lee to four months in prison for violating the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly (perjury). However, he was acquitted of violating the Political Funds Act, and the charges of abuse of authority, obstruction of the exercise of rights by fraudulent means, and violation of the Local Finance Act were dismissed.

Regarding the perjury charge related to the 'salmon and alcohol party,' both the court and the jury found Lee guilty. The jury’s verdict was split, with four finding him guilty and three finding him not guilty. Nevertheless, the court finalized the guilty verdict, stating, "While the statements of those involved in the prosecutor's office were consistent and corroborated each other, the defendant’s statements lacked consistency and credibility."

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