[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk’s side has filed a lawsuit seeking 1 billion KRW in damages against Chosun Ilbo for using an illustration created from photos of himself and his daughter in an article about sex crimes.
On the 30th, Cho’s legal representative stated, "They have filed a complaint at the Seoul Central District Court seeking 500 million KRW each from Chosun Ilbo, the reporter who wrote the article, and the editor in charge, totaling 1 billion KRW in damages."
They added, "Chosun Ilbo’s article has already infringed on personal rights to an irreparable extent," and emphasized, "We are claiming a high amount of compensation to eradicate the wrongful practice of defaming others’ honor and recklessly violating personal dignity through public media articles, and to prevent habitual illegal acts."
They also mentioned that they are carefully reviewing related legal principles and hiring lawyers to file a lawsuit in a U.S. court against LA Chosun Ilbo, which used the same article and illustration as is.
Earlier, around 5 a.m. on the 21st, Chosun Ilbo published an article titled "Three-person group luring for prostitution and stealing wallets," featuring an illustration created from photos of former Minister Cho and his daughter. As the controversy grew, Chosun Ilbo bowed and apologized, saying, "The reporter in charge mistakenly published the image after only seeing an illustration list featuring one woman and three men," and "We sincerely apologize to Cho Kuk and his daughter and to our readers."
On the same day, Cho’s side also filed a 200 million KRW damage claim against the state, alleging that from 2011 to 2016 during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, they were continuously subjected to illegal surveillance and public opinion manipulation by the National Intelligence Service. At that time, the NIS labeled Cho as a "pro-North Korean force" and "a wolf of the Republic of Korea disguised as a professor striving for regime change," causing mental damages.
They stated, "When recalling the numerous histories in our society where state agencies have abused the authority granted by the people, violating the lives, bodies, and human rights of citizens, no tolerance should be allowed for the abuse of power and human rights violations by state agencies against the people."
Furthermore, they said, "With the hope that such damages will no longer occur, we have filed this lawsuit to hold the media accountable for violations of personal rights and to address the illegal surveillance carried out during the previous administration."
Meanwhile, Chosun Ilbo issued another official apology on the morning of the same day for the inappropriate use of the illustration and promised to prevent recurrence.
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