Fine of 1 million won in the first trial
A YouTuber in her 60s who spread false information during a live broadcast, claiming former President Moon Jae-in was a "communist recognized by the court," was fined in the first trial.
According to Yonhap News on the 14th, the Ulsan District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Hwang Hyung-joo) sentenced a 60-year-old woman, identified as A, to a fine of 1 million won for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation).
Last July, while broadcasting on YouTube near former President Moon Jae-in’s private residence in Habuk-myeon, Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam, Ms. A was prosecuted for defaming the former president by falsely stating, "Moon Jae-in is a communist. The Supreme Court has ruled on this."
During the trial, Ms. A argued that she was merely repeating information disclosed by the media and that her statements did not constitute defamation nor were intended to defame former President Moon.
However, the actual content Ms. A encountered through the media was that former Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation Director Ko Young-joo was prosecuted for calling former President Moon a communist.
On January 4, 2013, shortly after the 18th presidential election, a retrial ruling was issued at a meeting held at the Korea Press Center International Conference Hall, stating that former Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation Director Ko Young-joo, who called former President Moon a "communist," was not liable for damages. This lawsuit was filed by former President Moon against former Director Ko. The ruling acquitted Ko on the grounds that the statement did not constitute a specific factual assertion, which differed from the intent of Ms. A’s remarks.
The court stated, "The intent of Ms. A’s remarks and the media reports differ, and even ordinary people without specialized legal knowledge can easily recognize this difference," adding, "Considering the location and context of the remarks, the purpose of defamation can also be sufficiently acknowledged," explaining the reasoning behind the sentencing.
Meanwhile, on the 6th of this month, former President Moon shared a photo on his SNS with First Lady Kim Jung-sook. He explained, "On the weekend when many people visited Pyeongsan Bookstore from afar, she took photos with each bookstore visitor for over an hour, and when she was preparing to go home because she must have been tired, (Mrs. Kim) said, 'Take a picture of the two of us too.'" The post ended with a heart emoji.
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