CONTENTS
- 1. Perjury, the Detailed Circumstances?
- - Perjury, the Relevant Statutes?
- 2. Perjury, the Court's Determination?
- 3. Perjury, Daeryun's Strategy?
1. Perjury, the Detailed Circumstances?
A, who was prosecuted on a charge of perjury, appeared as a witness in a trial concerning an alleged indecent act by compulsion in which a customer, at a drinking gathering held in a large hall, embraced the victim, an employee, from behind and kissed her on the cheek.
The prosecutor posed questions such as, "Did you observe the defendant embracing the victim from behind?" and "Did the defendant kiss her on the cheek and attempt to kiss her?" In response, A described the situation and answered, "Would you act that way in that situation? One could not, and it did not happen."
The prosecution, however, based on the relationship between A and the defendant and the circumstances at the time, determined that A had made a statement contrary to the facts despite having observed the indecent act by compulsion, and prosecuted A on a charge of perjury.
Perjury, the Relevant Statutes?
"I swear, according to my conscience, to tell the truth as it is without concealment or addition, and to accept the punishment for perjury if there is any falsehood."
Under the Criminal Procedure Act, a person who is to serve as a witness in a trial must read aloud the above oath before giving testimony. After taking the oath, the witness affixes a signature and seal or signs, and is thereafter subject to criminal punishment for making a false statement.
▣ Article 152 of the Criminal Act (Perjury, Perjury with Intent to Harm) (1) Where a witness who has taken an oath under the law makes a false statement, the witness shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years or a fine not exceeding ten million won. (2) Where a person commits the offense under the preceding paragraph with the intent to harm a defendant, suspect, or person subject to disciplinary proceedings in connection with a criminal case or a disciplinary case, the person shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than ten years. |
The Supreme Court has held that perjury means not 'making a statement contrary to objective fact,' but 'making a statement that differs from the witness's own recollection.'
Accordingly, even if a witness's testimony ultimately turns out to be contrary to the facts, where the witness testified in accordance with the witness's own recollection, this does not constitute 🔗perjury.
However, even if the content of the testimony ultimately coincides with objective fact, where the witness testified differently from the witness's own recollection, perjury may be established.
2. Perjury, the Court's Determination?
As to A, who was prosecuted on a charge of perjury, the District Court returned a verdict of not guilty.
The court explained that A's testimony should be assessed in light of its overall context and purport, rather than evaluated piecemeal.
The court stated, "Although the expressions A used were somewhat conclusory, the core of the testimony was that 'the defendant did take the victim's hand and pull her toward him, asking her to dance, but A did not observe any conduct amounting to an indecent act by compulsion.'"
The court also found that there was no evidence that A had directly observed the indecent act by compulsion, and that it was difficult to prove this through the statements of other witnesses.
Although the site of the incident was an open structure, because the attendees at the time were each singing or dancing, the court found that it was difficult to conclude that A clearly observed the 'surprise indecent act.'
The court held, "The mere fact that a person was present at the scene does not allow a conclusion that the person observed everything that occurred at the time," and "there is insufficient basis to conclude that the defendant's statement was a false statement contrary to the witness's own recollection."
3. Perjury, Daeryun's Strategy?
We have analyzed a District Court judgment holding that, in connection with a charge of perjury, where there is no evidence as to facts the witness directly observed, the witness is not guilty.
If you face a charge of perjury despite having testified in accordance with your own recollection, or if you became flustered at trial and committed perjury by mistake, it is important to gather evidence promptly and respond actively.
Daeryun Law Firm LLP has, among others, a 🔗case in which it defended a charge of perjury down to a fine, and it holds numerous other defense cases.
If you find yourself in a difficult situation due to a related charge, you are welcome to reach out to an 🔗attorney handling criminal matters at Daeryun Law Firm LLP at any time.
