"Han Dong-hoon Defamation: Yoo Si-min Fined 5 Million Won in Appeal Trial"

Former Director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Yoo Si-min, who was sentenced to a fine in the first trial for defaming Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, was also sentenced to a fine in the appellate trial.

Former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Director Yoo Si-min, who was indicted on charges of defaming Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, is entering the Seoul Western District Court where the appellate trial sentencing is held on the 21st.
[Photo by Choi Tae-won]

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Appeals Division 1 (Presiding Judge Woo In-seong) dismissed both the prosecution's and the defendant's appeals and upheld the original verdict during the sentencing hearing on the 21st for Yoo, who was charged with defamation by radio broadcast.

The court stated, "The claims of factual errors or legal misunderstandings by both the prosecution and the defendant cannot be accepted," and added, "The sentencing in the original trial is evaluated to have been made within a reasonable range."

Yoo is accused of defaming Minister Han by stating on the YouTube channel 'Alileo' in December 2019 that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division illegally tracked his and the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation's accounts. At the time, Minister Han was serving as the head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division.

Yoo is also accused of saying on a radio broadcast in April 2020, "Since last year, I presume the prosecution has looked into all my accounts to find any corruption," and again in July of the same year on the same broadcast, "I judge it highly likely that the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division, where Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon was, viewed them."

Earlier, the first trial court sentenced Yoo to a fine of 5 million won in June last year. The first trial court explained the sentencing by saying, "The defendant served as Minister of Health and Welfare and is active as a political and social commentator, thus having considerable influence on public opinion formation. The crime is serious in that it can distort the process of public opinion formation."