Defamation Comments by Competitor '1ta Gangsa' Park Gwang-il Also Receives Suspended Sentence in Appeal Trial

Pretending to Be a Test Taker to Criticize Other Instructors and Academies
Obstruction of Business Charge... 2 Years Imprisonment, 3 Years Probation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] Park Kwang-il, a top instructor for the Korean language section of the college entrance exam (CSAT), who was accused of systematically posting defamatory articles about competing instructors and academies on internet community sites, was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the appellate court as well.

According to a report by Newsis on the 5th, the Suwon District Court Criminal Appeals Division 5 (Chief Judge Shim Byung-jik) dismissed Park's appeal on charges including obstruction of business and sentenced him to 2 years in prison with a 3-year suspension, the same as the original sentence. Park was also indicted for defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc., but both the first and second trials recognized only the obstruction of business charge as guilty.

Park was charged with conspiring with acquaintances to pose as examinees on internet community sites from July 2016 to January 2019, posting articles that defamed other instructors and academy lectures and operations, or criticized their hometowns, appearances, and academic backgrounds. They created a "community plan" that included community site accounts, comment tendencies per account, and defamatory content, and posted articles using virtual private network (VPN) bypass programs.

Photo by Yonhap News

Park was a star instructor who was once selected as the "No. 1 Korean language instructor who helped improve grades" in a survey conducted among examinees, but he meticulously committed the crimes by generating multiple IPs in the Philippines to evade IP tracking by investigative authorities.

The first trial court stated, "The defendant's actions could cause confusion by providing incorrect information to college entrance examinees, and the victims suffered distress due to the posts. However, considering that he admitted his wrongdoing, reflected on it, and pledged not to repeat it," it made its judgment. Subsequently, Park appealed citing unfair sentencing, and the prosecution appealed citing factual errors and legal misunderstandings regarding the acquitted charges, but the appellate court made the same judgment as the first trial.

The appellate court explained the reason for dismissing the appeal, saying, "False statements about the poster's identity or experience, rather than facts about the victims, cannot be applied under the Information and Communications Network Act provisions. Compared to the original trial, no new circumstances warranting consideration in sentencing were found in this court, so the original sentence cannot be deemed unfair."

Meanwhile, the court also sentenced three employees of Park's company, who were indicted together with Park, to suspended prison terms ranging from 4 months to 1 year, the same as the first trial, and overturned the original acquittal of one employee, sentencing them to 1 year in prison with a 2-year suspension.