Jo Guk, leader of the Jo Guk Innovation Party, partially won a damages lawsuit against Chosun Ilbo, which used an illustration depicting him and his daughter Jo Min in an article about a prostitution inducement theft gang.
The Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 14 (Presiding Judge Jeong Hajung) ruled on the 14th that Jo and his daughter partially won the lawsuit seeking damages worth around 1 billion won against Chosun Ilbo and reporter A.
The court stated, “The defendants shall jointly pay 7 million won to Jo Guk and 10 million won to Jo Min,” adding, “While recognizing liability for damages, the amount of consolation money is set at 7 million won and 10 million won, respectively.”
On June 21, 2021, Chosun Ilbo published an article about a prostitution crime case with an illustration that evoked Jo Guk and his daughter Jo Min, who were unrelated to the incident. As controversy grew, Chosun Ilbo admitted, “The reporter in charge mistakenly selected an image from an illustration list showing one woman and three men and published it,” and “We sincerely apologize to Jo Guk and his daughter and our readers.”
In response, Jo’s side filed a lawsuit worth about 1 billion won on June 30, claiming that their honor was damaged by the illustration. Jo’s side stated, “Jo Guk’s personal rights were already irreparably violated by Chosun Ilbo’s article,” and “We demand a high amount of consolation money to eradicate the wrongful practice of defaming others’ honor and recklessly infringing on personal dignity through public media articles and to prevent habitual illegal acts.”
Meanwhile, Chosun Ilbo published an apology in print regarding the inappropriate use of the illustration and promised to prevent recurrence.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
