"Suspension of Tongil TV Broadcast Deemed Illegal"…Court Orders KT to Pay 26.64 Million Won

Genie TV Notifies Channel of Contract Termination
Court: "Difficult to Conclude as Enemy Propaganda"
KT Yet to Decide on Further Legal Action Such as Appeal

The court ruled that KT's unilateral suspension of the broadcast of 'Tongil TV' on its 2023 Internet TV (IPTV) service was illegal.

According to the legal community on the 13th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 30 (Chief Judge Jeong Chan-woo) ruled on the 9th in a lawsuit filed by Tongil TV against KT, ordering KT to pay 26.64 million won, partially siding with the plaintiff.

In January 2023, KT notified the termination of the contract and suspended the broadcast of Tongil TV on its IPTV service 'Genie TV,' stating that "a significant portion of the content consisted of North Korean videos produced by Chosun Central TV, and considering the content and delivery method, it qualifies as enemy propaganda prohibited under the National Security Act."

In response, Tongil TV filed a lawsuit claiming 100 million won, arguing that the contract termination was illegal.

The court stated, "It is insufficient to recognize that the entire or a significant portion of the content broadcast by the plaintiff constitutes enemy propaganda under the National Security Act, or that the plaintiff seriously breached the supply contract by providing enemy propaganda," thus ruling in favor of Tongil TV.

Furthermore, the court noted, "Tongil TV appears to be a channel primarily delivering information related to North Korea, and KT reviewed the program supply proposal containing such content before signing the contract. Although some content seems to include positive evaluations of North Korean activities by North Korean broadcast announcers, it is difficult to conclude that the entire content reaches a substantial (reasonable) level to be evaluated as enemy propaganda."

Regarding this, KT stated, "As a broadcaster, we terminated the contract and suspended the broadcast with Tongil TV to fulfill our public responsibilities and protect user rights."

However, KT added, "We respect the court's judgment and plan to carefully conduct additional legal reviews to reaffirm the protection of user rights and public interest," and currently, no decision has been made regarding further legal actions such as appeals.