"Using Connections to Avoid Military Service" Baseball Player Oh Ji-hwan 'Insulted' by Man in His 30s... Fined

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] The court sentenced a man in his 30s to a fine for posting malicious comments regarding baseball player Oh Ji-hwan's 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games military service exemption controversy.

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 10 (Judge Yoon Yang-ji) sentenced A (34), who was indicted on charges of insult, to a fine of 300,000 won.

A is accused of insulting Oh Ji-hwan by posting a comment on an article related to Oh Ji-hwan around April 23, 2019, stating, "Without even hitting a single hit or going to the military... using Seon Dong-ryeol well and skipping the military with connections lol."

A’s side argued in court, "The posted comment does not constitute insult under criminal law and there was no intent to insult," and "Even if it meets the elements of insult, the act of writing the comment cannot be considered against social norms."

Judge Yoon stated, "There is no established fact that there was any improper solicitation or external pressure during the selection process for the Asian Games baseball national team, and there is no circumstance indicating that the military exemption was unlawfully granted."

He added, "The article to which the comment was posted is a positive article about Oh Ji-hwan’s performance, stating that his defensive movements are significantly better than other players," but "the comment itself contains a negative evaluation of Oh Ji-hwan."

Judge Yoon also explained, "The meaning of 'connections' expressed by A can be sufficiently interpreted as implying that Oh Ji-hwan was selected through an unfair process involving improper solicitation to Seon Dong-ryeol despite objectively lacking the qualifications to be selected for the national team, and as a result, received the benefit of military exemption."

Although A stated that the comment was written to criticize the national team selection system rather than Oh Ji-hwan personally, Judge Yoon said, "It appears to have been written to express a negative image of Oh Ji-hwan rather than healthy criticism."