Court Orders Ahn Minseok to Pay 20 Million Won in Damages for Claiming Choi Soon-sil Had Swiss Account

Choi Seo-won (formerly known as Choi Soon-sil), a central figure in the state manipulation scandal, partially won her retrial in a damages lawsuit against former Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Minseok.

Choi Soon-sil attending the first trial sentencing hearing related to the Park Geun-hye administration's state manipulation case held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul in 2018. Photo by The Asia Business Daily

On the 21st, the Civil Division 3-2 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Heo Ilsung) ruled in the retrial of the damages lawsuit filed by Choi Seo-won against former lawmaker Ahn Minseok, ordering, "The defendant must compensate the plaintiff 20 million won." The court determined that, as stated by the Supreme Court, two of Ahn's remarks constituted defamation by spreading false information.

The court stated, "By quoting rumors or third-party statements circulating in society without clearly providing evidence, and by speaking as if he had directly investigated, the defendant contributed to intensifying public criticism of the plaintiff."

In particular, regarding the statement that Choi had secured a large sum through a contract with a U.S. defense company, the court noted, "The content of the statement is serious, and the impact on the plaintiff's reputation is very significant."

Choi filed a damages lawsuit in the amount of 100 million won, claiming that former lawmaker Ahn spread false information during the 2016-2017 state manipulation scandal by raising suspicions about her alleged hidden assets, which caused her harm.

The first trial court ruled in favor of the plaintiff by default, as Ahn did not respond to the lawsuit. However, the appellate court overturned this decision, finding that Ahn's remarks were made for the public interest.

In June, the Supreme Court partially overturned the lower court's ruling against the plaintiff and sent the case back to the Southern District Court. The Supreme Court determined that statements such as "Money from Company A's Swiss secret account is linked to Choi" and "Choi met with the chairman of a U.S. defense company and profited from it" constituted defamation by spreading false information.