Former Chairman Go Young-ju Found Guilty in Second Trial for Saying "Moon Jae-in is a Communist"

First Instance Verdict of Acquittal Overturned
Law: "Constitutes Timely Disclosure of False Facts"

President Moon Jae-in [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Ko Young-joo, former chairman of the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Agency, who was indicted on charges of defamation for calling President Moon Jae-in a 'communist,' was found guilty in the appellate court. The second trial court overturned the first trial's ruling, finding that Ko's remarks constituted the dissemination of false information.

On the 27th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 9 (Presiding Judge Han-don Choi) overturned the original verdict that acquitted Ko and sentenced him to 10 months in prison with a 2-year probation.

The court stated, "Simply stating that the victim was the lawyer in the Burim case does not necessarily harm social evaluation, but if that fact is used as evidence to argue that the person is a communist, it should be viewed differently."

The court also said, "Considering the fratricidal war and ideological conflicts, the term 'communist' is more damaging to the victim's social evaluation than any other expression," and added, "Given the ideological conflicts affecting society as a whole, it is difficult to see the defendant's remarks as lawfully made within the scope of freedom of expression."

However, the court added, "It considered that the defendant's remarks were not made with the intent to damage President Moon's political career in a planned manner, but were an impromptu response to a sudden speech request."

After the verdict, President Moon's legal representative said, "I believe this is a ruling consistent with the principles of defamation law," and added, "It seems the court accepted the prosecutor's opinion."

Ko Young-joo, former chairman of the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation

Ko Young-joo is accused of making false statements on January 4, 2013, shortly after the 18th presidential election, calling Moon Jae-in, then leader of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, a "communist" and saying, "If this person becomes president, it is only a matter of time before our country turns red."

President Moon filed a defamation lawsuit against Ko in September 2015, and the prosecution indicted him without detention in 2017 on charges of defamation by spreading false information.

Previously, the first trial court acquitted Ko, judging that there was no malice or intent in his remarks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.