MBC and Production Team Jointly Ordered to Pay 30 Million Won
Correction Report Must Be Issued Within 14 Days After Final Judgment
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] Former TV Chosun CEO Bang Jeong-oh has won a partial victory in a lawsuit against MBC and others for a correction and damages related to MBC PD Notebook's report on the late Jang Ja-yeon.
The Civil Division 12 of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Seong Ji-ho) ruled on the 26th that Bang, the plaintiff, partially won the defamation and damages claim lawsuit filed against MBC and three PD Notebook producers.
The court stated, "Defendants Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation and the three PD Notebook producers shall jointly pay 30 million won in damages, dismiss the remaining claims, and the litigation costs shall be borne 30% by the plaintiff and the rest by the defendants," adding, "Within 14 days after this judgment is finalized, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation shall broadcast a correction statement on the first PD Notebook episode aired."
Bang claimed 300 million won in damages against them, arguing that his reputation was damaged and his portrait rights infringed due to false reporting in the PD Notebook episode on Jang Ja-yeon aired in July 2018. He demanded 250 million won from MBC and 150 million won from the PD Notebook producers.
Bang's side argued that parts of the report stating that Bang testified during the prosecution investigation that "he attended the drinking party but Jang Ja-yeon was not there" and that it was confirmed Bang was present the night before Jang's death were not true.
The first hearing was held in March 2019. At that time, Bang's lawyer argued, "The defendants claim that the program's purpose was to report on the overall inadequate investigation by the prosecution and police regarding the Jang Ja-yeon case," but added, "The inadequate investigation controversy only accounted for 8 minutes out of the entire 120-minute broadcast, and the editing and reporting were aimed at defaming a specific individual."
On the other hand, MBC's lawyer argued, "The program's purpose was to show that the police did not conduct a proper investigation," and "It raised suspicions that Chosun Ilbo exerted pressure on the police."
Previously, Bang filed multiple lawsuits against media outlets regarding the late Jang Ja-yeon report. In January, Bang partially won a correction claim lawsuit against media outlets and journalists including Hankyoreh Newspaper and Media Today. However, the court dismissed the lawsuit against KBS. In March 2019, KBS aired News9 reporting that "the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Past Affairs Investigation Team secured testimony from insiders that there were call records between former CEO Bang and the deceased, and that Chosun Ilbo pressured the police to delete these records." Bang at the time fully denied these allegations.
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