Partial Victory for Plaintiffs Confirmed
Spreading False Information Including the 'Porsche Statement'
Former leader of the Innovation Party, Cho Kuk, who was sentenced to 2 years in prison by the Supreme Court on charges including 'admission fraud involving his children' and 'cover-up of Blue House inspection,' is holding a press conference at the National Assembly on the 12th of last month. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
The Supreme Court has finalized the second-instance ruling ordering the YouTube channel 'Garosero Research Institute' (Gaseyeon) to compensate former leader of the Innovation Party, Cho Kuk, and his family for spreading false information.
According to the legal community on the 10th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Noh Kyung-pil) dismissed the appeal without oral argument yesterday, thereby confirming the lower court's partial ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the damages lawsuit filed by former leader Cho and his two children against Gaseyeon, CEO Kim Se-ui, and lawyer Kang Yong-seok. Accordingly, Gaseyeon and others must pay 10 million KRW to Cho, 25 million KRW to his daughter Cho Min, and 10 million KRW to his son Cho Won, and must delete the videos containing false information within seven days of the final judgment date.
In August 2020, former leader Cho filed a lawsuit claiming 300 million KRW in damages, alleging that Gaseyeon and participants Kang and Kim defamed him by spreading false information. Since August 2019, Kang and others had made statements through Gaseyeon such as "Chinese Communist Party funds entered the private equity fund operated by former leader Cho," "Cho favored a particular actress," and "Cho Min drives a red Porsche."
The first trial court ruled that some or all of the statements in the videos presented by former leader Cho were false and ordered Gaseyeon and lawyer Kang to pay 50 million KRW in damages. The second trial court recognized a reduced total compensation responsibility of 45 million KRW, and the Supreme Court affirmed this lower court judgment, finding no error.
On the other hand, in the criminal trial last September regarding the false statement that Cho Min drove a Porsche, both parties were ultimately acquitted. The court stated, "Although the Porsche statement itself is false, it is difficult to consider that this expression infringes on the victim's honor or social value."
Meanwhile, former leader Cho was sentenced to two years in prison on the 12th of last month for charges including his children's admission fraud and covering up Blue House inspections, and was incarcerated at Seoul Detention Center on the 16th. Since then, he has continued 'prison politics' by sending multiple letters to Innovation Party lawmakers and supporters. On the 11th, he announced that he would provide 1,000 free cups of coffee to participants of the 'Immediate Arrest and Resignation of Yoon Seok-yeol Nationwide Citizens' Rally' using funds donated by citizens.
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