Attorney Joo Jin-woo, Former Prosecutor, Loses Defamation Lawsuit Against Newstapa and MBC Correction Reports

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Former Chief Prosecutor Joo Jin-woo (46) lost in the first trial after filing a defamation correction lawsuit against media outlets that raised suspicions of collusion with a former prosecutor-turned-lawyer while he was working in the Office of the Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs.

According to the legal community on the 10th, the Civil Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Gwan-yong) ruled against former Chief Prosecutor Joo in both defamation correction lawsuits he filed against the Korea Investigative Journalism Center (Newstapa) and MBC.

Earlier, in September 2019, Newstapa reported in its series "Prisoner and Prosecutor" that it had obtained call records of lawyer Park Soo-jong, a former prosecutor, revealing calls with 22 active prosecutors. In October of the same year, MBC aired a broadcast report with similar content.

The reports stated that lawyer Park had made a total of 65 calls and exchanged 13 text messages with former Chief Prosecutor Joo between 2015 and 2016. During this period, Joo was dispatched to work as an administrative officer in the Office of the Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House. The articles suggested that there were circumstances indicating that the prosecution covered up Park’s financial crime allegations, and one of those circumstances was the multiple calls between Park and active prosecutors, including former Chief Prosecutor Joo.

In response, former Chief Prosecutor Joo filed defamation correction lawsuits against Newstapa in October 2019, and against both MBC and Newstapa in November of the same year.

In court, he argued that the two media outlets "asserted in a definitive tone that I was involved in lawyer Park’s case, thereby stating false facts." However, the court dismissed all claims, stating that "it is difficult to conclude that the reported content is untrue."

The court acknowledged, "It is recognized that there were 47 calls and 31 text messages between the plaintiff and lawyer Park during the plaintiff’s tenure as an administrative officer at the Blue House," and added, "As the defendants pointed out, the timing and frequency of the contacts showed a pattern that was somewhat related to the investigation schedule concerning lawyer Park."

Furthermore, the court stated, "The fact that there were a considerable number of contacts between a former prosecutor who worked as an administrative officer at the Blue House and a suspect or person under investigation for a crime at the same institution cannot be seen as circumstances that do not raise suspicions about the fairness of the related investigation."

Former Chief Prosecutor Joo said, "During the first trial, evidence showed that I had no acquaintance with the lead prosecutor of the investigation team and did not make calls to the chief prosecutor," and added, "Since it has become clear that I did not contact the investigation team, I will appeal and seek a retrial."

Former Chief Prosecutor Joo left the prosecution in 2019 and is currently working as a lawyer.

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