The finding of guilt in a criminal trial shall be based on evidence with probative value, which makes it possible for a judge to be convicted of the facts charged to the extent that there is no reasonable doubt (Article 307(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act). If there is no such proof, even if the defendant is suspected of guilty, the conviction cannot be judged as guilty (see, e.g., Supreme Court Decisions 2001Do2823, Aug. 21, 2001; 2005Do8675, Mar. 9, 2006). Furthermore, the selection and probative value of evidence conducted on the premise of the finding of facts fall under the free judgment of the fact-finding court (Article 308 of the Criminal Procedure Act). On the grounds as indicated in the reasoning of the judgment below, the lower court rejected the prosecutor’s allegation that there is no proof of mistake in the part of the facts charged, and did not err in the misapprehension of legal principles as to expressive materials of the first instance judgment.

The allegation in the grounds of appeal is the purport of disputing such determination of facts by the lower court, and is merely an error of the lower court’s determination on the selection of evidence and probative value, which belong to the free judgment of the fact-finding court. In addition, even if examining the reasoning of the lower judgment in light of the aforementioned legal principles and records, the lower court did not err by exceeding the bounds of the free evaluation of evidence contrary to logical and empirical rules, as alleged in the grounds of appeal, or by misapprehending the legal doctrine on the dual representation under Article

Therefore, the appeal is dismissed. It is so decided as per Disposition by the assent of all participating Justices on the bench.