Former Minister Cho Kuk Reported on Facebook for Defamation Charges Against Yoon Seok-yeol, Journalists, and Prosecutors

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk./Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk has been accused of spreading false information on his Facebook about Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, KBS reporters, and prosecutors, thereby damaging their reputations.

On the 31st, the civic group Action Alliance for Restoring the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon) filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office against former Minister Cho for defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act concerning Prosecutor Kim Jin-yong, the former head of the KBS legal affairs team, and Prosecutor General Yoon.

Beopse-ryeon stated, “On the 17th, former Minister Cho posted on his Facebook under the title ‘Urging an Investigation into Prosecutor Kim Jin-yong Regarding Deceptive Investigation Suspicions,’ claiming that ‘It has been confirmed that Prosecutor Kim Jin-yong of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office questioned Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim about a list file from her PC as if it had been obtained through a search and seizure at Korea University, and received answers from her.’ This is a clear falsehood.”

Beopse-ryon provided evidence, saying, “In response to former Minister Cho’s claim, the prosecution rebutted in a statement that the prosecutor did not say ‘materials seized from Korea University’ but rather ‘materials we secured,’ as can be seen from Professor Jeong’s testimony, and that during the investigation, it was not stated that the materials were obtained from Korea University.”

They added, “Due to former Minister Cho’s irresponsible dissemination of false information, Prosecutor Kim has suffered irreparable defamation and severe personal attacks from certain groups appearing to be supporters of former Minister Cho.”

Beopse-ryon also pointed out, “On the 23rd, former Minister Cho posted on Facebook citing the witness examination of PB Kim Kyung-rok and an Alileo interview, claiming, ‘The KBS legal affairs team leader mentioned Song Kyung-ho, and a KBS reporter mentioned Han Dong-hoon, pressuring PB Kim Kyung-rok.’ In response, the former KBS legal affairs team issued a statement on the 24th saying, ‘The KBS legal affairs team leader did not make such statements. There was no coercion of interviews by leveraging connections with the prosecution. For reference, the KBS legal affairs team leader neither met nor even spoke on the phone with the two prosecutors at that time.’”

They continued, “Therefore, former Minister Cho’s claim that the KBS legal affairs team leader or reporter pressured PB Kim Kyung-rok is a clear falsehood. While it is possible to simply introduce PB Kim Kyung-rok’s claims, categorically expressing them without fact-checking with the involved KBS reporters constitutes the illegal act of spreading false information.”

Finally, Beopse-ryon stated, “On the 9th, former Minister Cho posted on his Facebook, ‘In early the second half of last year, the prosecution leadership anticipated and hoped for the ruling party’s defeat in the April 15 general election and reset the prosecution organization’s overall direction. The indictment in the Ulsan case, which mentions President Moon Jae-in 35 times, is a product of this. After the ruling party’s defeat in the general election, groundwork was laid for the president’s impeachment.’ This claim is an absurd and baseless falsehood.”

Beopse-ryon added, “Former Minister Cho failed to provide evidence for this claim. The assertion that groundwork for impeachment was laid in early the second half of last year implies that Prosecutor General Yoon immediately began preparing for the president’s impeachment upon his appointment in July last year, which is an utterly ridiculous falsehood.”

They further noted, “Former Minister Cho specifically identified the prosecutors pushing for impeachment as the prosecution leadership, which necessarily includes the Prosecutor General, thus damaging the reputation of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.”

Beopse-ryon concluded, “While former Minister Cho responds strongly to defamation against himself, he continues to commit defamation crimes by spreading false information about others. We urge the investigative authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.”