[Column] The Truth and Lies of Kim Kyung-su

Former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo [Image source=Yonhap News]

It was right after the Supreme Court ruling was announced on the 21st. A message notification sounded in the KakaoTalk group chat of former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo's public relations team. It was the final statement Kim sent to the Supreme Court panel the day before the ruling. The statement was seven pages long on A4 paper. The word 'truth' caught the eye. He said, "I earnestly hope that the appellate process will be one that reveals the truth as it is." He used the word 'truth' five times in his final statement.

The so-called 'Druking comment manipulation' case. It was a word he had used since suspicions of his involvement in the case first arose. He used it during the special prosecutor's investigation and also during the court trial. Even when the court handed down a guilty verdict, he mentioned the truth. He did so again when the Supreme Court confirmed a two-year prison sentence the day before. Kim said, "I will never give up the belief that the truth, no matter how far it is thrown, will return to its place."

What did truth mean to him? Was it innocence or a sense of injustice? If so, that would be wrong. The dictionary definition of truth is "pure and correct, without deceit in the heart." Was that the reality revealed in the three years of trials? No. There was deceit, and it was neither pure nor correct. This is evident in the rulings of the first and second trials, as well as the appellate decision. Regarding the charge of obstructing business by damaging computers, for which he was found guilty, he claimed falsehoods, and for the charge of violating the Public Official Election Act, for which he was acquitted, he faced moral criticism.

The judges wrote their rulings while enduring political retaliation, suffering from pressure-induced shingles. Kim's claims were sufficiently included. Yet Kim says the court ignored the truth. He even expressed distrust in the judiciary, asking the public to judge the truth. Then why didn't he apply for a citizen participation trial earlier?

On the day after the appellate ruling in November last year, Kim Kyung-soo went to work at the Gyeongnam Provincial Office and said to the 3.34 million residents of Gyeongnam, "This case is a battle between truth and falsehood, and I am confident that the truth will be revealed when the Supreme Court appellate trial proceeds." Legally, the truth of the case was revealed beyond reasonable doubt in the appellate trial. Yet seeing Kim still talk about truth raises this question: "Do you need a reinterpretation of the dictionary meaning of truth?"

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