The former agency representative was found guilty in the first trial for perjury after attending a trial related to the late Jang Ja-yeon.
On the 26th, Judge Kang Min-ho of Criminal Division 10 at the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kim Jong-seung, the former agency representative of Jang, who was indicted for perjury in the defamation trial of then-Democratic United Party lawmaker Lee Jong-gul in November 2012, to four months in prison with a one-year probation.
The prosecution reported that Kim’s testimonies, including ▲claiming he only learned who the late Bang Yong-hoon, former president of the Koreana Hotel, was after Jang’s death ▲stating that he coincidentally met Bang Jeong-oh, former representative of TV Chosun, at a drinking party in October 2008 and that Jang only greeted him and left ▲and denying ever assaulting his affiliated entertainers, were false statements contrary to Kim’s memory, and brought the case to trial.
The court judged two of these statements as perjury.
First, regarding Kim’s testimony that he did not know Bang Yong-hoon before Jang’s death, the court ruled it false, stating, "In October 2007, Kim and the deceased (Jang Ja-yeon) attended a dinner hosted by former president Bang Yong-hoon, and Kim introduced the deceased to the attendees."
The court added, "It is difficult to understand the claim that Jang, who had just started her entertainment activities in October 2007, greeted the attendees without the involvement of the agency representative. Therefore, it should be considered that Kim was at least aware of Bang’s attendance."
Additionally, regarding Kim’s statement that he coincidentally met former representative Bang Jeong-oh, the court found that Kim gave false testimony contrary to his memory, as he had brought Jang to the meeting with Bang Jeong-oh and stayed with her until the drinking party ended.
The court stated, "Considering Kim’s corporate card usage records on that day, Jang’s call logs, and testimonies from related parties, it can be acknowledged that Kim knew in advance about Bang Jeong-oh’s attendance and took Jang to the entertainment venue."
However, the court did not conclude that Kim’s denial of assaulting affiliated entertainers constituted perjury.
The court interpreted Kim’s statement at the time as meaning not that he never assaulted anyone, but rather that he did not assault them frequently.
In May 2019, the Prosecution’s Past Affairs Committee announced the results of its investigation into the "Jang Ja-yeon case" and recommended the prosecution initiate an investigation into Kim’s perjury charges. Two months later, the prosecution indicted Kim for perjury.
Kim had previously been convicted of assaulting and threatening Jang, receiving a four-month prison sentence with a one-year probation confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2013.
In November 2010, the first trial court sentenced Kim to one year in prison with two years probation, but in the following year’s second trial, the sentence was reduced to four months in prison with one year probation.
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