Kim's Side "Intentional Political Manipulation" - Seoul Voice "Clear Intent of Prior Censorship"
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The court decision on the provisional injunction filed by Kim Gun-hee, spouse of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, to prevent the disclosure of her phone conversations with Lee Myung-soo of the YouTube channel Seoul’s Voice, will be announced on the 21st.
The Civil Division 51 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Chief Presiding Judge Kim Tae-up) held a hearing on the 20th afternoon regarding Kim’s provisional injunction request against Seoul’s Voice to prohibit broadcasting and distribution, and stated that if both parties submit additional materials by the next morning, a conclusion will be reached before 2 p.m.
The court made this decision after the debtor side, including Seoul’s Voice, argued that they had never received the application submitted by the creditor during the transfer of the case from the Seoul Central District Court to the Seoul Southern District Court and requested an opportunity to submit a rebuttal.
At the hearing, the representatives of Seoul’s Voice and Lee said, “We have never received the application submitted by the creditor,” and added, “We need a date to review and respond to it, so please give us a submission deadline, and we ask that you make a decision after reviewing it by then.”
In response, the court said, “If there is additional content to respond to, submit it by 10 a.m. tomorrow,” and “We will issue a ruling before 2 p.m.”
Meanwhile, the representatives of Kim argued at the hearing, “The recorded files in this case were obtained by individuals with specific political motives who deliberately approached, induced questions, and obtained answers,” adding, “Such actions do not fall under freedom of the press and publication and can be seen as a serious invasion of privacy.”
In response, the representatives of Seoul’s Voice countered, “Lee identified himself and requested an interview, but Kim’s side claims this is a political conspiracy,” and “There was no attempt by the reporter to manipulate or edit the recordings to distort them.”
The total duration of the calls recorded by Lee is known to be 7 hours and 45 minutes over 53 sessions from July to December of last year.
Earlier, Kim’s side filed provisional injunctions against MBC, Open Sympathy TV, and Seoul’s Voice, arguing that Lee illegally recorded private conversations without consent and that the disclosure of the call contents as they are would cause serious damage to her personality rights.
The Seoul Western District Court allowed the disclosure of most content except for daily conversations unrelated to investigations or political views about Kim, and complaints about the media on the 14th, and the Seoul Central District Court on the 19th expanded the scope of disclosure further, ruling that only privacy-related parts should not be disclosed while the rest can be made public.
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