Supreme Court confirms 7 million won fine for Kim Se-ui and Yoon Seo-in in 'Late Baek Nam-gi's daughter defamation' case

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Former MBC reporter Kim Se-ui and political cartoonist Yoon Seo-in, who were prosecuted for posting defamatory content about the late Baek Nam-gi's daughter online, have each been sentenced to a fine of 7 million won.

On the 11th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice No Tae-ak) announced that it upheld the original court ruling that imposed fines in the appeal trial of Kim and others, who were charged with defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

Former reporter Kim was accused of defamation for posting on his social network service on October 3, 2016, referring to Baek’s second daughter, Minjuhwa, stating that she "went on a trip to Bali, Indonesia, at a time when the timing of her father's death was already determined." Similarly, Yoon posted a cartoon on an internet homepage around the same time depicting Baek lying in an intensive care unit and Minjuhwa lying on a beach in a bikini, with the intent to defame Minjuhwa.

The deceased was hospitalized and later died after being hit by a water cannon fired by police during a protest in November 2015. However, it was reported that the deceased’s daughter had traveled to Bali, Indonesia, not for leisure but to attend a family event at her in-laws' house. The first trial court sentenced both to fines of 7 million won each, stating, "Both individuals, who hold significant influence in the media, posted writings and drawings with the intent to defame the victim, thereby aggravating the grief of losing a family member."

Both appealed, but the court did not accept their appeals. The Supreme Court also dismissed their final appeals.

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