Former Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Eui-gyeom, who raised the so-called 'Cheongdam-dong drinking party' allegations against President Yoon Suk-yeol and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, denied the charges at his first trial on the 20th, where he was indicted for defamation.
Former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Ui-gyeom. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group
At the first hearing held under the presiding of Judge Lee Yong-je of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 13, Kim's side stated, "We deny all the charges." Kang Jin-gu, former CEO of The Tam Sa, who was indicted alongside Kim, also denied all charges.
The Cheongdam-dong drinking party allegation concerns an incident between the night of July 19 and the early morning of July 20, 2022, where President Yoon and former leader Han allegedly held a drinking party with 30 lawyers from Kim & Chang law firm at a bar in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, accompanied by a cello performance. Kim raised these allegations during the National Assembly audit in October 2022. However, the allegations made during the audit were not prosecuted due to parliamentary immunity, and only the broadcasts made through YouTube were prosecuted.
Kang was also brought to trial on charges of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act for covering the matter in a total of 19 YouTube broadcasts between October 2022 and January 2023, damaging the reputations of President Yoon and former leader Han.
According to the prosecution's investigation, the allegations originated from a lie told by cellist A to her ex-boyfriend B. In particular, Kang was found to have conspired with B to coerce A into giving an interview as if the drinking party allegations were true and broadcast related content on YouTube. Kang also faces charges of unlawful entry into the residences of former leader Han and others during a YouTube live broadcast in November 2022.
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