Applying the Special Act for Repeated Dissemination, Editing, and Distribution of False Information on May 18
Holding Responsible Parties Accountable
The city of Gwangju and the May 18th Memorial Foundation have filed a complaint against Ji Manwon, Jo Jeongjin, and the online newspaper Sky Daily, accusing them of repeatedly spreading false information about the May 18 Democratization Movement.
On the 23rd, the city of Gwangju and the May 18th Memorial Foundation announced that they had filed a complaint the previous day against Ji Manwon, Jo Jeongjin, and Sky Daily for violating Article 8 (Prohibition of Spreading False Information) of the Special Act on the May 18 Democratization Movement, among others. The complaint was filed by Choi Kiyeong, Secretary General of the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, along with lawyers Park Indong and Shin Hyeonung.
On the 22nd, in front of the Civil Service Office of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency, the city of Gwangju and the May 18 Memorial Foundation submitted a complaint accusing Ji Manwon, Jo Jeongjin, and Sky Daily. Provided by the city of Gwangju
The accused, Ji Manwon, is currently serving a two-year prison sentence after being convicted by the Supreme Court in 2023 for defamation related to spreading the so-called "May 18 North Korean Army Involvement Theory." Nevertheless, he is accused of again disseminating the same false information by serializing "Ji Manwon's Documentary Novel: Chun Doo-hwan" in Sky Daily 11 times from March 1 to March 12 last year.
At the time, Jo Jeongjin, who was the CEO, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Sky Daily, is accused of publishing these serialized articles even while Ji Manwon was serving his sentence. He is also accused of continuously publishing articles supporting Ji Manwon's claims since around June 27, 2022, as well as planning and executing the publication of related special columns.
Accordingly, the city of Gwangju and the May 18th Memorial Foundation included Sky Daily, the media company involved in spreading these false claims, as a subject of the complaint. The two organizations determined that the serialized articles went beyond personal contributions, and that the media company bore editorial and distribution responsibility for the entire process, including posting, editing, placement, and dissemination of the articles.
They also pointed out that Ji Manwon's donation account was repeatedly posted at the end of the serialized articles, suggesting a strong possibility that he sought financial gain through content distorting the history of the May 18 Democratization Movement. The city and the foundation emphasized that these donations should be regarded not as simple contributions but as criminal proceeds, and called for a thorough investigation and strict punishment.
Choi Kiyeong, Secretary General of the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, stated, "It is a clear and intentional crime to redistribute information that state agencies and the judiciary have already repeatedly confirmed to be false and illegal. Strong investigations and punishments must follow to fundamentally block the redistribution of these false claims."
Park Yongsoo, Director of the Democracy, Human Rights, and Peace Bureau of the city of Gwangju, said, "Further neglect or tolerance cannot be justified. The city of Gwangju will continue to do its utmost to protect citizens from false and manipulated information and to uphold the values of democracy, human rights, and peace."
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