Lee Hwa-young, former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor, who was indicted on charges of perjury for claiming there was a "salmon sashimi and alcohol party provided by the prosecution" during the investigation into the North Korean remittance case, has been sentenced to four months in prison. This court ruling comes two years and two months after Lee, in April 2024, alleged that Prosecutor Park Sang-yong had coerced his testimony by providing him with external food and soju at the prosecutor's office during the investigation into the North Korean remittance. [Photo=Yonhap News]

Truth finding its rightful place. In a society governed by common sense, this proposition, as natural as water flowing from top to bottom, has become a cause for celebration, which is truly disheartening. While I question if this is truly something to celebrate, I first offer my words of hard work and gratitude to Prosecutor Park Sang-yong.

For the past two years and three months, a public official endured the lynching of a powerful political group that had privatized state power, with his entire being. The fabricated illusion of a "salmon and alcohol party in the prosecutor's office," launched by Lee Hwa-young, was a crude lie that would be rejected even as a third-rate crime drama script on Netflix. Yet, the left-wing faction rejoiced as if they had discovered a sacred battle for national salvation.

The reason for their obsession with such a low and shallow prop is clear. They needed a firewall to protect the ultimate destination of the immense state crime of the Ssangbangul North Korean remittance: Lee Jae-myung. As the reality of the crime loomed, they attempted to dismantle the entire investigation by transforming the investigating prosecutor into a corrupt schemer.

They clung to Lee Hwa-young's incoherent ramblings, where memories conveniently evaporated and the dates and places of drinking changed at whim, as their sole scripture. The ruling party pushed for impeachment and held what they called a National Assembly hearing, essentially a show trial, to humiliate public authority. This perverse attempt to conceal their wrongdoings by feigning persecution of a martyr was a fascist act of violence that discarded the rule of law as kindling for the protection of one individual.

The most exhilarating twist in this comedy is that the entity that severed the lifeline of falsehood was none other than the jury in a "citizen participation trial," composed of ordinary citizens. The left has consistently justified their blind incitement by invoking "the people's perspective" and "civic common sense."

However, when citizens turned the magnifying glass of evidence in the courtroom, the flimsy novel of being coerced into testimony with soju poured into paper cups was utterly torn apart. With cool reason, the citizens designated this fabricated spectacle as clear "perjury," and the court handed down a prison sentence to Lee Hwa-young.

I express my deep solidarity with Prosecutor Park's lonely struggle, who, amidst all the mockery and threats of suspension, never compromised and quietly dismantled the fortress of lies with the power of facts, during a barbaric period when a large group wielding power tried to trample a prosecutor with such common sense.

This is not merely about restoring the honor of one prosecutor. It is a historic triumph that proves that no matter how much grandstanding and madness the left may indulge in, the nation's common sense towards truth will never be suffocated.

Now, I will tell Lee Jae-myung and his loyal followers the chilling reality they must face. The grotesque "salmon shield" they meticulously crafted has ultimately been shattered before the reason of the citizens. They may have attempted to mock the rule of law and steal the court's time by hiding behind the illusion of a third-rate novel's drinking party, but your petty schemes have failed perfectly.

Remember this: history's bills may be delayed in delivery, but they never incur "delivery errors" that confuse the recipient. Your pathetic lack of resources, unable to break even a single sharp needle of truth despite holding power, has finally been exposed.

The grace period gained through manipulation and incitement has ended. In the midst of a hunting ground where the net of the rule of law is cruelly tightening with every step you tried to escape, I ask:

Do you truly believe the clock of true judgment will stop only for Lee Jae-myung?

◆ Park Ju-hyun, Writer

Composer, music director, columnist, and essayist. Actively expresses opinions on political, current affairs, and social issues on Facebook, gaining wide sympathy. Published the essay collection 'Crossing the Stormy Sea'.