Lee Jae-myeong’s Arrest Warrant Dismissed, Focus Shifts to ‘Instigation of Perjury’ Charge

Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is suspected of receiving preferential treatment for Baekhyeon-dong development and Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea, is exchanging greetings with party leaders as he leaves the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do after his arrest warrant was dismissed in the early morning of the 27th. /News 1

With the arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, dismissed on the 27th of last month, attention is being paid to whether the charge of ‘instigation of perjury’ will be indicted first. An arrest warrant was requested for Representative Lee on charges of ‘illegal remittance of funds to North Korea’, ‘special development of Baekhyeon-dong apartment complex’, and ‘instigation of perjury’. Chief Judge Chang-hoon Yoo dismissed the warrant, but said that ‘the charge of instigation of perjury appears to have been proven.’ Because.

The charge of instigation of perjury that Representative Lee is facing comes after he was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act in 2018 in connection with a past ‘impersonation of a prosecutor’ case. To a key witness who was former secretary of Seongnam Mayor Kim Byeong-ryang, former Mayor Kim asked prosecutors together at the time to frame Representative Lee as the main culprit. The content is that they requested false testimony to the effect that they decided to withdraw the complaint only against the KBS PD who committed the impersonation incident. During the warrant review process, the prosecution submitted a transcript of Representative Lee asking a witness, “Please tell me that everyone was talking about that aspect to get me arrested.”

Perjury under Article 152 of the Criminal Act is punishable by imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 10 million won. In the case of instigation, the statutory punishment is the same.

If you look at actual cases of teachers being punished for perjury, you will often find sentences of imprisonment. On the 20th of last month, the Gwangju District Court sentenced an accomplice to five months in prison in a case where a person who was on trial for a drug crime lied to an accomplice, saying, “I will pay you a monthly deposit if you recant your statement that I did not participate.”

In cases where money is exchanged in exchange for perjury, a more severe sentence may be imposed. Last July, the Changwon District Court sentenced a man on trial for rape to 10 months in prison in a case where he paid 40 million won to the victim and instigated her to falsely testify that “sexual intercourse was consensual.”

In particular, in gambling sites, prostitution agencies, violent crimes, etc., perjury was often used to relieve the real culprits of responsibility. In January 2020, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced the instigator to 1 year and 6 months, 2 sentences in the first trial in a case where a person indicted on charges of opening an Internet gambling site incited employees involved in operating the site to give false testimony pointing out another person as the person in charge. Shim was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

In 2015, the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Court sentenced a person indicted on charges of soliciting prostitution to six months in prison in a case where he incited perjury to an acquaintance, saying, “Please testify that I told the store tenant, ‘You must not engage in illegal business.’”

The Wonju branch of the Chuncheon District Court also sentenced a 20-year-old gang leader to a fine of 2 to 3 million won in a case in which a gang leader in his 20s was indicted on charges of instigating a false statement that he ‘did not order a group assault’ to a gang member.

◇ From the court’s perspective, it is ‘obstruction of justice’ and often results in prison sentences.

According to the Supreme Court’s ‘2023 Judicial Yearbook’, a total of 441 cases were sentenced in the first trial court last year on charges of perjury (including instigation) and destruction of evidence, and 48.8% of them, or 215 cases (including 128 suspended sentences), were sentenced to imprisonment. Although the actual sentence is about 20%, it is a significant proportion considering that the statutory maximum sentence is only 5 years in prison.

The reason why prison sentences often appear for perjury is because, from the court’s perspective, it constitutes ‘obstruction of justice.’ One current judge said, “If the accused is found not guilty as a result of perjury, it cannot be corrected through a retrial, so that aspect has no choice but to be considered in sentencing.” Since retrial is possible when a conviction is sought to be corrected, a ‘not guilty’ verdict in favor of the defendant is not subject to retrial.

According to the sentencing guidelines that judges refer to in sentencing, the basic sentence for perjury is six months to one year and six months. In addition, if financial compensation is received or perjury affects the outcome of the trial, it acts as an aggravating factor, and in this case, a sentence of 10 months to 3 years in prison is possible.

Representative Lee, who is pleading not guilty to all charges related to the arrest warrant request, also maintains his stance regarding perjury, saying, “I only asked him to recall his memory and tell it as it was, and I never instigated him to commit perjury.” Nevertheless, if Representative Lee is found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment or higher, he will lose his seat as a member of the National Assembly in accordance with the Public Official Election Act and the National Assembly Act. An official in the legal community predicted, “It is not a large part of the total charges, but the indictment is possible first, and the fight will be fierce because the position of a member of the National Assembly is at stake.”

2023-10-05 09:07:03
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