YouTuber Sentenced to 6 Months in Prison for Calling Lee Nak-yeon a Spy Who Swore Loyalty to Kim Jong-un
[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A male YouTuber in his 40s who was prosecuted for broadcasting false claims that Representative Lee Nak-yeon, who ran in Jongno-gu, Seoul during last year's April 15 general election with the intent to defeat him, was a spy, was sentenced to prison in the first trial.
The Criminal Division 13 of the Uijeongbu District Court (Chief Judge Da-ju Jeong) announced on the 3rd that it sentenced defendant A (47), who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, to six months in prison. The court stated the sentencing reason, saying, "This is an act that cannot be protected as it exceeds the limits of political freedom of expression," and "It is a very serious offense because it causes the so-called 'colorism' controversy, which poses a great risk of misleading voters' proper judgment."
A was indicted for falsely claiming through his personal YouTube channel in February last year that "Candidate Lee is a spy, a communist, and a Juchesasangpa (pro-North Korean faction)" and that "you should not vote for him." During the broadcast, he also showed a photo on the screen with the text "2018. 9. 26 Republic of Korea Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon" and claimed, "Candidate Lee pledged loyalty to Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the North Korean State Affairs Commission." However, it was confirmed that the text in the photo was from a guestbook left by Representative Lee during his tenure as Prime Minister when he visited the birthplace of Ho Chi Minh, the first President of Vietnam.
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In court, A claimed, "I received the information from viewers and did not know it was false, and I had no intention to defeat him," but the court did not accept this. The court ruled, "In our divided nation reality, this can greatly provoke voters," and "Moreover, if the content is false, it causes unnecessary and unjust so-called 'colorism' controversy, which poses a great risk of misleading voters' proper judgment, making the offense very serious."
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