Prosecutors appealed the charges, including abuse of authority, for which the court dismissed the indictment ex officio in the first trial verdict of the citizen participation trial of former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young. However, they decided not to appeal the perjury charge related to the so-called "salmon drinking party" allegation and the Political Funds Act violation charge over alleged split donations. Prosecutors also said they did not receive any instructions from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office or the Ministry of Justice regarding partially dropping the appeal of the first trial ruling.
According to legal sources on the 27th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office submitted a notice of appeal the previous day to the Criminal Division 11 of the Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Song Byung-hoon) in the case involving charges of abuse of authority obstructing the exercise of rights, obstruction of official duties by deceit, and violation of the Local Finance Act.
Earlier, in the first trial, the court took issue with the fact that prosecutors first indicted former Gyeonggi Province Peace Cooperation Bureau Director Shin Myung-seop, whom they identified as a co-conspirator, while listing the former vice governor as an accomplice in the indictment. It then dismissed the indictment, saying it was "a clear abuse of prosecutorial power that resulted in a guilty finding in another person's case without the opportunity to exercise a defense."
Prosecutors argue that the court misunderstood the fact that there were reasonable grounds for not indicting the defendant at the same time as the co-conspirator. They decided to appeal, viewing that if this finding is finalized, it could affect the common practice in corruption investigations of filing separate indictments for co-conspirators.
By contrast, they decided not to appeal the Political Funds Act violation charge on which a not-guilty verdict was returned. They said they considered that the jurors unanimously favored acquittal, a key witness recanted prior statements, and the low likelihood of success on appeal.
Prosecutors also said they did not receive instructions from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office or the Ministry of Justice regarding the scope of dropping the appeal, nor was a gag order issued. They said the matter was decided by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office's trial maintenance team and leadership, recommended to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and approved without significant changes.
However, despite prosecutors dropping the appeal on the perjury charge and others, the former vice governor's side filed an appeal on the 21st, challenging the four-month prison sentence, so those charges are also expected to be addressed in the appellate trial. In the appeal, the legal validity of prosecutors' separate indictment of co-conspirators is expected to be reviewed, along with renewed legal battles between both sides over the salmon drinking party allegation.