Gwangju District Court Assigns Criminal Division 1 to Appeal Trial in Jeon Du-hwan's 'Defamation of the Deceased' Case

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The appellate court for the defamation case involving former President Jeon Du-hwan (89) has been decided.

According to the legal community on the 18th, the appellate case of former President Jeon has been assigned to the Criminal Division 1 of the Gwangju District Court (Chief Judge Park Hyun).

Previously, former President Jeon was indicted for defaming the late Father Cho Bi-o regarding his testimony about the military helicopter shootings during the May 18 Democratic Movement, and was sentenced in the first trial to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspended sentence.

In his memoir published in 2017, former President Jeon was accused of defamation for criticizing Father Cho Bi-o, who testified to witnessing the military helicopter shootings during the May 18 period, calling him a "shameless liar unworthy of the title of priest."

The prosecution, which had sought a 1 year and 6 months prison sentence, appealed on the grounds that the first trial's sentence was too light, and former President Jeon's side also appealed, claiming the sentence was unfair.

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