A man in his 20s who made acquaintances give false testimony to obtain a favorable outcome in his drug case was sentenced to prison in the first trial. The court found that he coordinated testimony in advance with his lawyer, divided roles, and induced his acquaintances to commit perjury.
According to legal sources on the 25th, Senior Judge Go So-young of the Seoul Southern District Court's single-judge criminal division sentenced a person surnamed Choi (26), who was indicted on charges of inducing perjury, to six months in prison on the 12th. A person surnamed Park (29) and a person surnamed Hong (33), who gave false testimony in court at Choi's request, were each fined 5 million won.
According to the judgment, Choi was indicted on charges of delivering 15 ml of synthetic cannabis liquid to Hong through Park while on trial in 2023 for violating the Narcotics Control Act.
To deny the charges, Choi directed witnesses who were in a detention center to give false testimony. After Choi set the testimony by letter, Attorney An, Choi's defense lawyer, would convey in detail what to answer in court during detention-center meetings.
In July 2023, from a detention cell, Choi sent a letter to Hong instructing, in substance, "The statutory penalty for synthetic cannabis is high, so deny having ever received it." That same month, Attorney An met Hong and coached him on what to answer at the witness examination scheduled a month later, including, "Testify that you never received synthetic cannabis from Choi."
The court also noted that Choi and Attorney An had a relationship that went beyond a simple client-lawyer relationship.
After being retained in Oct. 2022 as Choi's defense lawyer in the drug case, Attorney An met Choi dozens of times and exchanged letters. The court ruled that the two maintained a close relationship, even calling each other "hyeong."
In fact, in a letter to Choi, Attorney An wrote, "Even inside the detention center, you work hard promoting your hyeong. Your hyeong is always grateful," and, "I make sure to call your father at least once a week."
On this basis, the court held, "It appears they formed a close relationship that goes beyond a typical client-lawyer relationship."
Choi argued that he alone induced the perjury and did not collude with Attorney An. But the court did not accept this.
The court said, "It is reasonable to view that (Attorney An) knew the testimony was false, or at least recognized the possibility it was false, and nevertheless condoned it, sharing in the execution of the inducement of perjury," and found, "Choi, in collusion with the lawyer, induced Hong and Park to give false testimony contrary to their memory."
However, Attorney An was separately indicted on the same charge in the same court and was acquitted in the first trial in May. Prosecutors are said to have appealed.