'Jeong Jin-seok Prison Sentence' Judge Park Byung-gon Receives 'Strict Warning' for Posting Political Content on SNS

Park Byung-gon, a judge at the Seoul Central District Court who sparked controversy by unusually sentencing People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Jin-seok to a heavy prison term on charges including defamation of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, received a 'strict warning' for political posts he made on his SNS.

On the 16th, the Supreme Court’s Judicial Administration Office stated, "We verified the facts regarding the use of SNS by the judge after appointment, in relation to whether it violated the Judicial Disciplinary Act, the Code of Judicial Ethics, and the recommendations of the Supreme Court Public Officials Ethics Committee. After deliberation by the Court Audit Committee, an independent audit body mostly composed of external members, we urged the chief judge of the affiliated court to issue a strict warning concerning some posts on SNS after the judge’s appointment that could be perceived as political views."

Seoul Central District Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul.

Judge Park, presiding over the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Central District Court, sentenced lawmaker Jeong to six months in prison in August on charges including defamation of the late President Roh.

In September 2017, Jeong posted on his SNS, "After the wife of former President Roh, Kwon Yang-sook, and their son were investigated by prosecutors on suspicion of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from Park Yeon-cha, Kwon ran away after a marital fight, and that night, President Roh, left alone, took his own life," which led to a complaint from the bereaved family accusing him of defamation of the deceased and violation of the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation).

Initially, the prosecution filed a summary indictment against Jeong in September 2021, seeking a fine of 5 million won, but the court deemed it necessary to conduct a formal trial and referred the case to a full trial in November last year.

At the sentencing hearing held in June, the prosecution requested the same fine of 5 million won as in the summary indictment, but Judge Park’s six-month prison sentence was seen as an unusually severe punishment. Analysis showed that among 35 defamation cases Judge Park had previously ruled on, 33 resulted in fines or acquittals, one was a suspended sentence, and the only prison sentence was in Jeong’s case.

Jeong appealed, stating, "I can only understand this as a judgment mixed with emotion."

However, after the verdict, controversy arose over Judge Park’s political bias based on his school activities and SNS posts.

In a post written in October 2003 when Park was a high school senior, it was reported that he wrote, "If they (the Grand National Party) want to call for the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun, the majority of lawmakers who illegally took office with illicit funds should resign first."

It was also reported that during his university years, Park posted on his blog phrases such as "Inciting local leftist radicalization upon entering high school" and "Infiltrating the law school under orders from the underground party to pursue the red revolution in the legal community."

According to media reports at the time, Park followed Twitter accounts mainly of opposition figures such as former President Moon Jae-in, former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Chairman Yoo Si-min, and broadcaster Joo Jin-woo, while Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung followed Park’s Twitter account. Among Park’s past posts was a statement saying, "The Democratic Labor Party calls me the youngest party member in the Yeongtong area of Suwon."

After Lee Jae-myung’s defeat in the presidential election on March 9 last year, Park posted on Facebook, "After drinking soju for about two days, venting frustration, feeling despair, and sadness, from the third day, we must get up."

Some media outlets raised suspicions that Park requested the removal of his information from the legal professionals directory before the verdict to anticipate controversy. Indeed, Park’s information is not searchable in the Korean Legal Professionals Directory operated by the Legal Times.

A conservative online media outlet filed a petition with the prosecution requesting an investigation into whether Park violated laws such as the National Security Act based on his past blog posts, but the Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Chief Prosecutor Jeong Ji-eun) dismissed the case last month, stating, "No specific charges are recognized."