Lee Dong-jae "Fraudster Avengers Collusion with Power Brokers Conspiracy"
Choi Kang-wook, former member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was indicted for defaming former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae, was sentenced to a fine in the second trial.
On the 17th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 5-2 (Presiding Judges Choi Tae-young, Jeong Deok-su, and Koo Kwang-hyun) overturned the first trial's not guilty verdict in the defamation case against former lawmaker Choi and sentenced him to a fine of 10 million won.
The court stated, "Considering the defendant's social status, his statements inevitably contribute significantly to public opinion formation in our society, and it is believed that the defendant was fully aware that, as a politician, he should be cautious in his remarks. Nevertheless, the defendant posted the disputed article containing false information on Facebook, which, due to the nature of social networks, has extensive and rapid dissemination power and influence. Such conduct by the defendant severely distorts the process of public opinion formation, which reflects poorly on the nature of the crime."
It continued, "Furthermore, the victim of this post was perceived as a reporter who colluded with prosecutors to investigate or coerce false reports, causing considerable mental distress to the victim, who also desires the defendant's punishment. On the other hand, since it is true that in the letter related to this case, there was a mention to Lee Cheol that if the victim provided misconduct information about former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Director Yoo Si-min, assistance would be given through prosecution officials for leniency, it seems necessary to reflect on whether there were suspicious circumstances that the victim was connected to the prosecution and attempting improper investigative activities in sentencing. Also, considering the fairness in sentencing when simultaneously judging the confirmed obstruction of business charge, and taking into account other factors such as the defendant's age, environment, the circumstances, means and results of the crime, and post-crime situation, the court comprehensively considered various sentencing conditions revealed in the case records and arguments," explaining the sentencing rationale.
Former lawmaker Choi was brought to trial for defaming former reporter Lee by posting a message titled 'Summary of Channel A reporter's remarks in the letter and transcript' on his social media on April 3, 2020, about ten days before the 21st National Assembly election. The post included content stating that former reporter Lee, during the investigation of the ShillaJen suspicion, told former Value Invest Korea (VIK) CEO Lee Cheol, "It doesn't matter if it's not true. To survive, say you gave money to former Director Yoo Si-min."
Former reporter Lee was dismissed from Channel A due to the suspicion. During the Moon Jae-in administration, he was arrested and indicted in August 2020 on charges of attempted coercion by the prosecution and was detained in a detention center for about 200 days. However, he was consecutively acquitted in the first and second trials, and with the prosecution deciding not to appeal, he was finally acquitted in January last year.
In the first trial, the court acknowledged that former lawmaker Choi published false information but ruled that the defamation charge under the Information and Communications Network Act could not be established because the 'purpose of defamation' was not proven. The prosecution appealed by adding a general criminal defamation charge to the existing Information and Communications Network Act defamation charge. Unlike the Information and Communications Network Act, the general criminal defamation charge does not require a 'purpose of defamation' for the crime to be established.
Former lawmaker Choi served as the Secretary for Public Discipline at the Blue House during the Moon Jae-in administration. Despite the defamation controversy against the Channel A reporter during the 21st general election, he was elected as a proportional representative of the Open Democratic Party. However, in a trial related to issuing a 'false internship certificate' to former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's son while working as a lawyer in 2017, he was sentenced to a suspended prison term in September last year, resulting in the loss of his parliamentary seat.
Immediately after the guilty verdict against former lawmaker Choi was announced, former reporter Lee issued a statement saying, "A guilty verdict has been handed down after 3 years and 9 months regarding the 'collusion between politics and media' conspiracy orchestrated by the 'Avengers' of politicians, media, conspiracy theorists, and swindlers just before the last general election." He added, "Punishments for Kim Eo-jun, Yoo Si-min, the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media, MBC, and others should also be carried out promptly."
He continued, "Fake news is the worst crime that kills personality and tramples on democracy," and said, "Defendant Choi Kang-wook was also sent to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office for spreading another fake news about reporter Lee Dong-jae, and this will also be held accountable to the end."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
