'Yoon Defamation Charges' Kim Man-bae, Shin Hak-rim and 2 Others Headed to Trial

Four individuals, including Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, and Shin Hak-rim, former chairman of the Korean Federation of Journalists' Unions, who are accused of exchanging hundreds of millions of won in bribes for false reports defaming President Yoon Seok-yeol, were indicted on the 8th.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jun-dong) on the same day indicted Kim Man-bae, chairman of Hwacheon Daeyu, and former chairman Shin (former NewsTapa senior advisor) on charges including violation of the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation), breach of trust, violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, and violation of the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds, and detained them. Kim Yong-jin, CEO of NewsTapa, and reporter Han (last name withheld) were also indicted without detention on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation). Former chairman Shin is also charged with extortion.

Major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, Kim Man-bae (left), and former chairman of the Media Union, Shin Hak-rim (Photo by Yonhap News)

According to the prosecution, around September 2021, when the controversy over preferential development in Daejang-dong arose, Kim met with former chairman Shin, who was then a senior advisor at NewsTapa, and spread false information that "President Yoon met with Jo Woo-hyung, a Daejang-dong loan broker who appeared before the prosecution during the investigation of Busan Savings Bank, and favored the case." Subsequently, some media outlets, including NewsTapa, reported on this content.

Furthermore, the prosecution believes that around September 15-20 of the same year, Kim handed over 165 million won to former chairman Shin with a request to report on the matter and disguised it as "book sales proceeds." NewsTapa broadcast the false interview on March 6, 2022, three days before the presidential election.

The prosecution also applied extortion charges against former chairman Shin for threatening Jeong (last name withheld), former director of the National Medical Center, between 2022 and 2023, saying, "I never authorized the transfer of the family relationship map booklet I gave you, but you gifted it to former President Moon Jae-in, so give me 150 million won. If you do not pay, I will sever our relationship," and extorted 47 million won.

Kim, CEO of NewsTapa, and reporter Han, who were indicted without detention, are accused of defaming President Yoon by reporting the false interview.

A prosecution official said, "We will make every effort to maintain the prosecution so that the defendants receive punishment commensurate with their crimes."