Court Orders "Lee Sang-ho to Compensate Kim Kwang-seok's Wife 100 Million Won"

Acknowledgment of False Information Dissemination... Compensation Amount Doubled Compared to First Trial

Seohae Sun / Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] The court has ruled that reporter Sangho Lee of the internet media outlet 'Gobal News,' who raised suspicions about the murder of singer the late Kim Kwang-seok, must pay 100 million won in damages to Kim's wife.

According to the court on the 29th, the Seoul High Court Civil Division 12 (Presiding Judge Yongbin Kim) partially ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the appeal trial of a damages claim lawsuit filed by Kim's wife, Seo Hae-soon, against reporter Lee and others, ordering them to pay 100 million won. This amount is twice the 50 million won recognized in the first trial. The court ruled that out of the 100 million won in damages, reporter Lee must solely pay 40 million won for the parts posted on his Facebook, and jointly with Gobal News, pay 60 million won for the parts posted on the company's platform.

The court stated, "Reporter Lee and others intentionally edited objective facts and subjective suspicions in their reports, misleading the general public to believe baseless vague suspicions as facts," adding, "This constitutes intentional infringement with the purpose of disguising falsehoods as truth, which is highly blameworthy." However, the court did not accept the allegations against Seo included in the film 'Kim Kwang-seok,' directed by reporter Lee, stating that "the allegations did not go beyond the freedom of expression permitted in films and did not defame."

In 2017, reporter Lee produced the film Kim Kwang-seok, which raised suspicions of murder regarding Kim Kwang-seok. The film claimed that Kim, who died by apparent suicide in 1996, was actually murdered, and that his wife Seo was a suspect. He made the same claims in media interviews immediately after the film's release. Separately, reporter Lee published articles with the same content on Gobal News. On his Facebook, he even referred to Seo as a 'devil.' In response, Seo filed a lawsuit against reporter Lee in November of that year, demanding 300 million won in compensation for damages, claiming defamation.