‘MB Government Comment Public Opinion Manipulation’ Former Police Chief Cho Hyun-oh Supreme Court Verdict Today

1st Trial: 2 Years Imprisonment → 2nd Trial "Some Comments Acquitted" 1 Year 6 Months Imprisonment

Former Commissioner General Cho Hyun-oh./Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-joon] The Supreme Court will issue its ruling on the former National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Hyun-oh, who was indicted and sentenced to prison in the appellate court for allegedly overseeing the police's online comment manipulation during the Lee Myung-bak administration, on the 30th.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Park Jung-hwa) will hold the sentencing hearing for Cho, who was indicted on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, on the morning of the same day.

From January 2010 to April 2012, while serving as the Chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and later as the Commissioner of the National Police Agency, Cho was prosecuted for mobilizing subordinate organizations such as security, intelligence, and public relations to post over 37,000 pro-government comments online (abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights).

At that time, the police were investigated for manipulating online public opinion through comments on various issues including the Cheonan ship incident, Yeonpyeong Island shelling, foot-and-mouth disease, Kim Jong-il's death, the Yuseong Enterprise labor union strike, half-priced tuition fees, the ratification of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the National Assembly, the Hope Bus protests at Hanjin Heavy Industries, the Jeju Gangjeong Village incident, and investigations of politicians.

The first trial court ruled, "The defendant organized a public opinion response team and made people under his command write comments favorable to the government or police, forcing them to perform duties they were not obligated to do," and judged that "this infringed on the freedom of police officers, causing them to feel demoralized, and violated the public's right to express their opinions," sentencing him to two years in prison.

The appellate court mostly upheld the first trial's judgment, stating, "The defendant's actions represent an organized and planned intervention by the police in the public opinion formation process in a representative democracy, which is against the constitutional order," and "he abused his command and supervisory authority, betraying the public's trust in the police," but reduced the sentence to one year and six months in prison by acquitting some of the comments.

Meanwhile, Cho was also sentenced to two years and six months in prison and fined 30 million won last year after being convicted of receiving a bribe of 50 million won from a construction company representative.