Cha Bum-kun Soccer School Loses Lawsuit Against Former Coach Who Reported Corruption

Former National Soccer Team Coach Cha Bum-kun / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former national soccer team coach Cha Bumkun’s ‘Cha Bumkun Soccer School’ lost a damages lawsuit against a former coach who defamed the corporation and reported corruption suspicions to the media.

According to the legal community on the 24th, Judge Kim Sunhan of the Civil Division 30 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled against the plaintiff in the damages claim filed by Cha Bumkun Soccer School against former coach Noh Mo. The court stated, “Noh’s actions do not constitute defamation or damage to the plaintiff’s social reputation to a degree that would be considered harmful, nor do they exceed the limits of freedom of expression.”

Previously, former coach Noh, who worked at the soccer school for about 13 years and retired in August 2015, posted several complaints on his social media accounts from then until February of the following year, including claims that he had not received his severance pay. In July 2016, a broadcasting station aired a program exposing various corrupt practices at the soccer school, including unpaid severance pay, based on Noh’s report. The soccer school claimed damages amounting to 50 million KRW, arguing that Noh’s defamatory actions harmed its social reputation.

During the trial, the soccer school argued, “Despite having signed confidentiality and non-defamation agreements upon retirement, Noh maliciously distorted and disclosed confidential information learned through his work by posting on his SNS account and reporting to the broadcasting station.” However, the court found, “The plaintiff (soccer school) did not provide specific claims or evidence that Noh’s posts were false,” and “It was not clearly stated which parts of the posts constituted ‘secrets of the soccer school’ learned during Noh’s work.”

The court also ruled regarding the broadcast content that “the reported information is overall true and clearly relates to matters of public interest.” In March 2016, Noh had filed a lawsuit against the soccer school claiming severance pay and other payments, winning a partial judgment ordering payment of about 30 million KRW. The soccer school filed a civil suit against Noh alleging embezzlement but lost, and also filed criminal complaints against Noh for defamation through publications and embezzlement, but the prosecution dismissed the charges due to lack of evidence.

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