Yoo Si-min Ordered to Pay Han Dong-hoon 30 Million Won... No Appeal Planned

No Appeal Filed, Judgment Finalized
Law: "Defamation by False Facts"

Former director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, Yoo Si-min, was ordered to pay 30 million won to former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, and the ruling has been finalized.

According to the court on the 23rd, neither Han's side nor Yoo's side filed an appeal within 14 days from the date of delivery of the judgment, confirming the ruling made on the 4th. Earlier, the Civil Division 14 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Jung Ha-jung) ruled on the 4th in a damages lawsuit filed by Han against Yoo, stating, "Yoo Si-min shall pay Han Dong-hoon 30 million won in consolation damages." In criminal trials, appeals or objections must be filed within 7 days from the date of sentencing, and in civil trials, within two weeks from the date of delivery of the judgment. If no appeal or objection is filed within the period, the judgment becomes final.

Former Chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, Yoo Si-min. Photo by Heo Young-han

At that time, the court found that three out of five statements made by Yoo were defamatory based on false facts and calculated the consolation damages at 10 million won per statement, resulting in this ruling. The court pointed out, "Han Dong-hoon, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office consistently denied that there was any confirmation of viewing or obtaining accounts under the name of the Yoo Si-min Foundation, but Yoo used categorical expressions such as confidently asserting without clear evidence that this denial was a lie, focusing on trivial expressions." Furthermore, "Yoo specified the subject requesting the provision of financial transaction information as the prosecution based on 'unofficial confirmation,' but he later stated that there was no objective evidence to prove this 'unofficial confirmation.' Considering this series of attitudes, there is room to see it as a malicious or highly reckless attack against Han Dong-hoon," the court explained.

Previously, Yoo was fined 5 million won by the Supreme Court in June for defaming Han by spreading false information about him multiple times on radio and YouTube channels from December 2019 to December of the following year. On the YouTube channel 'Alileo,' he stated that "the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division illegally tracked me and the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation accounts at the end of November or early December 2019." At that time, Han was the head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division.

Subsequently, Yoo mentioned the so-called 'prosecutor-media collusion' reports on radio broadcasts in April and July 2020, saying, "The prosecution surveilled my account, and I judge that it is highly likely that it was viewed by the Anti-Corruption and Strong Crime Division where Prosecutor Han was." The court handling the criminal case ruled that "although the prosecution explained when the suspicion was first raised, Yoo's misunderstanding seems not to have been resolved," and acquitted him for statements made in December 2019 and April 2020. However, regarding the statement made in July 2020, after the prosecution disclosed the account tracking in June 2020, the court found it guilty, stating "there was an intent to defame."

Additionally, Han filed a separate damages lawsuit worth 500 million won in March 2021, claiming that "he was stigmatized as a public official who illegally used public authority for personal revenge by Yoo." The court found Yoo liable for damages regarding three statements made in April, July, and August 2020.