Court Orders Hwang Hee-seok and TBS to Pay 10 Million Won in Damages for Defamation of Han Dong-hoon

Both First and Second Trials Imposed a 5 Million Won Fine
Supreme Court Upholds the Ruling

A court ruling has ordered lawyer Hwang Hee-seok (former Supreme Council member of the Open Democratic Party) and TBS Traffic Broadcasting to pay 10 million won in damages to former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, who was targeted by allegations of 'tracking the account of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation.'

Open Democratic Party Supreme Council Member Hwang Hee-seok attending the highest-level meeting. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 12th, Judge Kim Min-ji of the Civil Division 97 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled in a damages lawsuit filed by former leader Han against lawyer Hwang and TBS, stating, "The defendants shall jointly pay 10 million won." The court stated, "Hwang Hee-seok is recognized as the subject of the statement, and TBS is acknowledged for jointly committing an illegal act by broadcasting the program."

In November 2021, lawyer Hwang appeared on the TBS YouTube channel and claimed that "former leader Han, who was the head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office from September to October 2019, tracked the accounts of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation targeting former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation director Yoo Si-min."

Former leader Han filed a criminal complaint against lawyer Hwang for defamation based on false facts and also filed a civil lawsuit seeking 200 million won in damages against lawyer Hwang and TBS.

The first and second trials in the criminal case recognized the charges against lawyer Hwang, stating, "The defendant mentioned the victim's name at the time of the statement and used definitive expressions that the victim looked into the transaction details of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation," acknowledging the factual statement and intent to defame, and sentenced him to a fine of 5 million won.

The Supreme Court also found no issues with the lower court's judgment and dismissed the appeal, finalizing the sentence in October last year. Subsequently, the Korean Bar Association also imposed a disciplinary fine of 5 million won on lawyer Hwang.