Court Orders Cha Myung-jin to Pay 1 Million Won Each to 126 Families for 'Sewol Ferry Insult' Comments

Former National Assembly Member Cha Myung-jin. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] A court ruling has recognized the liability for damages of former National Assembly member Cha Myung-jin (60), who made insulting remarks to the families of the Sewol ferry victims.

The Civil Division 2 of the Bucheon Branch of Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-hee) ruled on the 22nd in a damages lawsuit filed by the Sewol families against former lawmaker Cha, ordering "payment of 1 million KRW in consolation damages per family member," partially ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.

Originally, 137 family members filed the lawsuit claiming 3 million KRW each in consolation damages, but 11 withdrew their claims during the trial, leaving a total of 126 plaintiffs remaining.

The court stated, "The post the defendant uploaded on his Facebook page one day before the 5th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster criticized the Sewol families as a group but individual members could be identified," adding, "The plaintiffs were identified as victims of insult."

The court added, "Considering the vocabulary used by the defendant, it is evident that there was a malicious intent to criticize and mock the Sewol families, which can be seen as a humiliating and contemptuous personal attack," and "This constitutes an insult infringing on the plaintiffs' personal rights."

Furthermore, "The defendant, as a former National Assembly member, could have anticipated that his post might be reported by the media," and "It is acknowledged that the plaintiffs suffered considerable mental distress," the court added.

However, the court noted, "Considering that the defendant deleted the post himself within an hour and posted an apology the next day, consolation damages were calculated at 1 million KRW per plaintiff."

Former lawmaker Cha posted on his Facebook on April 15, 2019, just before the 5th anniversary of the Sewol disaster, saying, "Sewol families. They greedily feed off the public's sympathy for their children's deaths, steaming it, boiling it, and even picking the bones clean. They really do it shamelessly."

He also made remarks during election debates and campaigns ahead of the April 15 general election last year, such as "Do you know about the Sewol XXX incident?" and "Reveal the black truth of the Sewol tent, whether XXX is true."

Separately from the civil lawsuit, former lawmaker Cha is currently on trial for charges of insult.

Earlier, a civic group filed a complaint against Cha for defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act related to his Facebook posts, but the prosecution decided not to indict, judging that it was difficult to find the "statement of fact" necessary to establish defamation.

In the criminal trial, Cha argued, "Somewhat rough or exaggerated expressions fall within the scope of freedom of expression and do not constitute defamation," and requested a jury trial, but the court did not accept it.

He appealed the court's decision but after the Seoul High Court dismissed his appeal, he recently filed a further appeal to the Supreme Court.

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