Minister Chu's Son Whistleblower Files Criminal Complaint Against Hwang Hee for 'Real Name Disclosure and Being Treated as a Criminal'... Violation of Kim Young-ran Act and Defamation

Hwang Hee, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Hwang Hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Seoul Yangcheon-gu Gap), who revealed the real name of the on-duty soldier who raised allegations of preferential treatment during the military service of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son and treated him as a criminal, has finally been reported to the prosecution.

The Liberty Rule of Law Center, a conservative civic group, filed a complaint against Representative Hwang on the afternoon of the 14th at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act.

In the complaint, the Liberty Rule of Law Center stated, "Representative Hwang disclosed the personal information of Mr. Hyun, knowing that he qualifies as a whistleblower, and publicly revealed false facts with the intent to defame him, thereby damaging his honor."

The Liberty Rule of Law Center emphasized, "After Representative Hwang's Facebook post was published, defamatory and threatening posts against Mr. Hyun flooded various social networking services (SNS), and Mr. Hyun has been suffering damage as a result. This is an unimaginable collective retaliatory crime and an outrage against a whistleblower in the Republic of Korea, which upholds the rule of law."

On the 12th, Representative Hwang mentioned the real name on his Facebook, stating, "The basis for the United Future Party (now People Power Party)'s accusation against Minister Choo is Mr. Hyun's report."

Representative Hwang also wrote content that seemed to treat Mr. Hyun as a criminal, saying, "A thorough investigation of Mr. Hyun appears necessary," "Judging from Mr. Hyun's words and actions, it is impossible to consider him a lone perpetrator," and "The accomplice forces involved in this process must be thoroughly identified."

He also said, "Judging from Mr. Hyun's words and actions, it is impossible to consider him a lone perpetrator," and "The accomplice forces involved in this process must be thoroughly identified."

After criticism poured in that he had labeled the whistleblower as a criminal, Representative Hwang deleted expressions such as Mr. Hyun's real name, "lone perpetrator," and "accomplice forces," and apologized, but by then Mr. Hyun's real name had already rapidly spread through SNS and other channels.

Article 15, Paragraph 2 of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act stipulates that "No one shall take disadvantageous measures against a whistleblower for reporting or related reasons."

Also, Article 22, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 4 of the same law prescribes that "Anyone who, in violation of Article 12, Paragraph 1 of the Whistleblower Protection Act, which is applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 15, Paragraph 4, discloses or reports the personal information of a whistleblower or facts from which it can be inferred that a person is a whistleblower to others" shall be punished by "imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won."

The Liberty Rule of Law Center also included in the reported criminal facts the charge of retaliatory threats under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, stating that Representative Hwang threatened Mr. Hyun, who testified unfavorably to Minister Choo's son, as if to retaliate.

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