People Power Party's Jeong Jin-seok Directly Criticizes Judge Who Sentenced Him to Prison: "It's Not an Exaggeration to Call Them Nosamo"

Judge Criticized Citing SNS Posts from High School Senior Year

On the 13th, the People Power Party criticized the judge who sentenced People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Jin-seok to six months in prison for defamation against former President Roh Moo-hyun and his wife, saying it was "not an exaggeration to call him a ‘Nosamo’ supporter."

Jeon Ju-hye, the People Power Party floor spokesperson and a former judge, mentioned the judge's real name in a statement on the same day, saying, "According to reports, Judge Park Byung-gon follows opposition figures such as former President Moon Jae-in and former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Chairman Yoo Si-min, and in turn, Judge Park is followed by Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party." She added, "A piece of writing that appears to have been written by Judge Park when he was a high school senior is filled with hostility and contempt toward the Grand National Party, which impeached President Roh, stating that ‘If you want to argue for the impeachment of the (Roh) president, it is right for the majority of lawmakers who illegally used funds to resign first.’" She continued, "It is not an exaggeration to call him a ‘Nosamo’ supporter."

Jeong Jin-seok, a member of the People Power Party who was prosecuted for defaming the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, is speaking after being sentenced to six months in prison at the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 10th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Reporting that the judge requested the removal of his personal information from the legal professionals' directory, where almost all legal professionals are registered, ahead of the sentencing in this case, she said, "This is very unusual and smells like preparation for something." Spokesperson Jeon criticized, "This six-month prison sentence is a ruling that, in its conclusion, was made not as a judge who should maintain political neutrality, but as a supporter of President Roh Moo-hyun and someone who harbored political views disliking the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, failing to distinguish between official duties and personal opinions."

Jeon said, "The Constitution stipulates that ‘Judges shall be independent in their decisions according to the Constitution and laws and their conscience,’" adding, "Here, ‘independence’ means not only independence from external interference but also independence from one’s own values." He stated, "We expect a balanced judgment from the higher courts that excludes political bias."

Earlier, in September 2017, lawmaker Jeong posted on his social media account, "The incident where former President Roh’s wife, Kwon Yang-sook, and their son were investigated by prosecutors for receiving millions of dollars in bribes from Park Yeon-cha, after which Kwon ran away following a marital quarrel, and that night, President Roh, left alone, took his own life." He was sued by the bereaved family. In relation to this, the prosecution filed a summary indictment against Jeong in September 2021 with a fine of 5 million won, but the court found Jeong’s charges not light and referred him to a formal trial in November last year.

Judge Park said in the trial, "The content posted by the defendant on Facebook is false, and there was no reasonable basis to believe that the defendant considered the content true. The post damaged the reputation of former President Roh and his wife," adding, "At that time, the former president and his wife were not considered public figures, and the content of the defendant’s post was neither a matter of public interest nor related to government policy decisions."