‘Channel A Incident’ Whistleblower X Loses First Trial in Defamation Lawsuit Over Criminal Record Disclosure

Ji Mo, known as ‘Whistleblower X’ who leaked the so-called ‘Channel A incident’ to the media, lost the first trial in a damages lawsuit against the media outlets that reported on his criminal record.

On the 27th, Judge Lee Geon-hee of the Civil Division 29 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled against Ji in the damages lawsuit he filed against Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo, and four affiliated reporters.

In April 2020, Chosun Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo published articles stating that Ji was serving time on charges of fraud and embezzlement. Ji claimed that he and his family suffered severe stress due to the reports and filed a damages claim for 100 million won in January last year, but it was rejected.

Ji is known as the person who first reported the ‘prosecutor-media collusion’ suspicion to MBC, alleging that the prosecution and media colluded to extract damaging information about the opposition at the time, after contacting former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae as an agent of former Value Invest Korea (VIK) CEO Lee Cheol.

Former reporter Lee was indicted and detained on charges of attempted coercion following the MBC report but was ultimately acquitted.