Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, was fined for defamation after being accused of falsely stating that he, during his time as head of the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, tracked the accounts of former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation chairman Yoo Si-min and shared information with former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae. The defamation charge was brought against Hwang Hee-seok, former Supreme Council member of the Open Democratic Party (57).
On the 25th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Seo Kyung-hwan) upheld the lower court's ruling that sentenced Hwang to a fine of 5 million KRW for defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act.
Former Open Democratic Party Supreme Council Member Hwang Hee-seok. [Image source=Yonhap News]
The court explained the reason for dismissing Hwang's appeal, stating, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience or exceeds the limits of free evaluation of evidence, nor is there any misinterpretation of the legal principles regarding the establishment of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act."
In November 2021, Hwang appeared on TBS's YouTube channel 'National Assembly Front Yujeong Cafe' and claimed that Han, who was head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division in September-October 2019, tracked the accounts of former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation chairman Yoo Si-min. Additionally, he raised the 'prosecutor-media collusion' suspicion that Han shared information with former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae to catch Yoo in connection with the SillaJen case.
Han denied ever tracking the accounts of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation or Yoo Si-min and filed a police complaint against Hwang in December 2021.
During the trial, Hwang argued that he did not specify Han's name, so the victim was not identified, and that he had no awareness of the falsehood or intent to defame, but this was not accepted.
The first-instance court sentenced Hwang to a fine of 5 million KRW.
The court stated, "Considering the circumstances leading to the defendant's statements, the surrounding context, the overall intent and content of the statements, and the manner of expression, even if each actor in the statements is not explicitly named as the victim, it is sufficiently clear that the defendant identified Han Dong-hoon as the subject of the account tracking and related acts, thus the victim of the statements can be identified as Han Dong-hoon."
Regarding sentencing, the court noted, "Given the defendant's occupation, status, career, and the method and form in which the statements were made, the impact and ripple effect of these statements on the public are expected to be considerable, and the defendant was likely well aware of this. The victim was already in a situation where he could be perceived by the public as a prosecutor who abused investigative authority for improper purposes due to the account tracking allegations raised by Yoo Si-min, and he had been explaining and complaining about defamation. The defendant's statements likely caused additional or aggravated mental distress to the victim. Furthermore, the defendant did not take any measures to restore the victim's reputation, which are unfavorable factors."
Hwang appealed, but the second-instance court upheld the same judgment.
In the second trial, Hwang repeated his previous defenses, but the court stated, "The defendant made similar claims in the first trial, and the lower court thoroughly addressed and rejected these claims. Considering the facts and circumstances established by the evidence lawfully collected and examined, the lower court's judgment is justified, and the defendant's claims are without merit," thus rejecting Hwang's arguments.
Hwang filed another appeal, but the Supreme Court also found no issue with the second-instance court's ruling.
Hwang was also indicted last month for defaming former reporter Lee Dong-jae by appearing on YouTube channel Jeong Bong-ju TV on March 31, 2020, and recently was referred to the disciplinary committee by the Korean Bar Association for 'violation of the duty to maintain dignity.'
Separately from the criminal complaint, Han filed a civil lawsuit against Hwang and TBS seeking 200 million KRW in damages, which is currently being tried at the Seoul Central District Court.
Prior to Hwang, former chairman Yoo Si-min, who raised the same allegations, was also prosecuted and had a fine of 5 million KRW upheld by the Supreme Court in June. Yoo apologized in January 2021, stating that he had raised suspicions without sufficient evidence.
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