Choi Kang-wook's Side: "No Intent to Defame Channel A Reporter"... Denies Defamation Charges

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, who was indicted for spreading false information related to the attempted coercion case involving a Channel A reporter, denied the charges in court.

On the 9th, Judge Kim Tae-gyun of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 16 held the first trial for Choi, who was indicted on charges of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act.

On this day, Choi's defense attorney argued, "The Channel A reporter himself engaged in acts that damaged his own reputation, which led to the writing of the post," and claimed, "There was no intent to defame."

He continued, "There has been much social debate regarding the former reporter Lee's investigative activities," adding, "The Chosun Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo claimed that a trap was set through collusion between the press and authorities, while the opposing side viewed the Channel A reporter's actions as colluding with the prosecution to force a confession of criminal facts." He argued that "the post written by the defendant is merely one opinion on a subject of social debate," and thus the elements of the crime are not established.

The court decided to hold the second trial for Choi on the 21st of next month and to hear Choi's side regarding the evidence investigation.

Meanwhile, after the trial, Choi stated, "The keywords of our era are fairness and justice, which were also reflected in the recent election results, but this case shows how political prosecutors recklessly conduct investigations and indictments to cover up internal mistakes through unfair and unjust methods."

Earlier, in April of last year, Choi was indicted for defaming former reporter Lee by posting a message titled "Summary of Channel A reporter's statements in letters and transcripts" on his SNS, containing false information with the intent to defame.

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