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The prosecutor's appeal is dismissed.

Reasons

1. 2. When considering the difference between the method of assessing credibility of the first instance court and the appellate court based on the spirit of substantial direct examination adopted by the Criminal Procedure Act as an element of the trial-oriented principle, the court below’s determination is sufficient to maintain the first instance court’s determination on the credibility of the statement made by a witness of the first instance court, unless there are extenuating circumstances where it is clearly deemed that the first instance court’s determination on the credibility of the statement made by the witness of the first instance court was erroneous in light of the contents of the first instance court’s ruling and the evidence duly examined in the first instance court, or where it is deemed that it is remarkably unreasonable to maintain the first instance court’s determination on the credibility of the statement made by the witness of the first instance court, even though the first instance court’s determination on the credibility of the statement made by the witness of the first instance court differs from the appellate court’s determination, the appellate court should not reverse the first instance court’s determination on the credibility of the statement made by the witness of the first instance court (see, e.g., Supreme Court Decision 2015Do13154, supra).