Supreme Court Partially Overturns and Remands Defamation Suit of Former Central Investigation Unit Chief Lee In-gyu over 'Nondureong Watch Report'

In the Supreme Court appeal trial of former head of the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Lee In-gyu, who filed a lawsuit against a media company that reported he was involved in the coverage of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun's 'muddy watch' incident, the part of the second trial ruling recognizing the media company's liability for damages was overturned.

Lee In-gyu, former head of the Central Investigation Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 9th, the Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) partially overturned and remanded the original ruling in the appeal trial of Lee against CBSi, the operator of NoCut News, columnist A, and reporter B, regarding their correction report and damages claim lawsuit.

Previously, NoCut News reported in June 2018 with articles titled "Lee In-gyu's residence in the United States confirmed, summons inevitable" and a commentary titled "Lee In-gyu must return and reveal the truth," each implying that Lee was involved in the 'muddy watch' coverage.

In particular, in the commentary, columnist A mentioned, "It was the prosecution that leaked to the media that the late President Roh had discarded an expensive luxury watch in the mud," and wrote, "Lee In-gyu admitted the fact, saying it was a plan by the National Intelligence Service to damage the former president."

In response, Lee denied these reports and filed a lawsuit in September 2018.

In the first trial, the court found that Lee had met with a National Intelligence Service official on April 21, 2009, and that the official mentioned the suspicion of the watch transaction aimed at morally damaging the former president. The court also noted that the problematic reports did not explicitly identify Lee as the source who leaked the suspicion to the media, and thus it was difficult to consider the reports false, ruling against the plaintiff.

However, the second trial court's judgment differed. In August 2021, the appellate court recognized the need for a correction report, stating that the content of the reports was false. It also ordered CBSi and reporter B to pay Lee 30 million won, and CBSi and columnist A to pay 10 million won in damages.

The appellate court stated, "The defendants acknowledge that several investigations and inquiries were conducted regarding the watch transaction suspicion, but the truth remains unclear, and they claim it is unknown whether the plaintiff was involved in the reporting of the suspicion." It added, "It is only recognized that the plaintiff received a request from a National Intelligence Service official to use the watch transaction suspicion in a way that would be beneficial if leaked to the media, but there is insufficient evidence to acknowledge that the plaintiff was actually involved in leaking information to the media."

It continued, "The part where the plaintiff admitted that the prosecution leaked information about the watch transaction suspicion to the media at the request of the National Intelligence Service can only be seen as seriously damaging the honor of the plaintiff, who was the head of the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office."

On this day, the Supreme Court confirmed the original ruling recognizing the need for a correction report regarding the reports stating that "the plaintiff was involved in leaking information about the muddy watch suspicion to the media" and "admitted that it was a plan by the National Intelligence Service to damage the former president."

On the other hand, the Supreme Court judged that the second trial court's conclusion recognizing damages for the report that "Lee was involved in leaking information about the National Intelligence Service's suspicion of the watch transaction involving former President Roh Moo-hyun" was incorrect. The court stated, "It is difficult to find that NoCut News had no substantial reason to believe that such facts were true," and "there is a possibility that the illegality is excused as it cannot be seen as a malicious or grossly reckless attack on Lee that has lost significant reasonableness."

Meanwhile, Lee published a book last year titled "I Was a Prosecutor of the Republic of Korea - Who Killed Roh Moo-hyun?" and claimed that the suspicion of the watch transaction involving the former president is an 'undisputed fact.'