Prosecution Appeals Suspended Sentence Ruling for Former President Jeon Du-hwan

On the 30th of last month, former President Jeon Du-hwan and his wife Lee Soon-ja were leaving their residence in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, to attend the first trial sentencing hearing for defamation of the deceased held at the Gwangju District Court. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The prosecution has appealed the first trial court ruling that sentenced former President Jeon Du-hwan (89) to a suspended prison term for defamation of the deceased.

On the 3rd, the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office filed an appeal with the court against the first trial ruling that sentenced Jeon, who was indicted for defamation of the deceased Father Cho Bi-o, to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspension, citing reasons such as inappropriate sentencing and factual errors.

The prosecution is known to argue that the sentence in the first trial was too light and that the court's acquittal regarding the helicopter shooting at Jeonil Building on May 27, 1980, involved factual misunderstandings and legal errors.

Jeon was put on trial for defaming Father Cho Bi-o, who testified in his 2017 memoir that he witnessed the military's helicopter shooting during the May 18 period, by criticizing him as a "shameless liar unworthy of the title of priest."

On the 30th, Judge Kim Jeong-hoon of the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 8 sentenced Jeon to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspension.

Meanwhile, it is reported that Jeon's side also intends to appeal now that the prosecution has filed an appeal.

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