Vice Chairman Who Spread False Rumors About Union Chairman Reduced from Probation to Fine

First Trial Convicted of Defamation... Second Trial "Insufficient Recognition That the Fact Was False"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A vice chairman of a labor union who spread false information that the union chairman had promised money to the management during wage negotiations was sentenced to a fine. Unlike the first trial, which handed down a suspended sentence, the second trial judged the vice chairman's remarks as a response to the victim's request for clarification and found no evidence of intent to defame.

On the 5th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) announced that it upheld the original ruling sentencing Mr. A, a vice chairman of a certain company's labor union, to a fine of 5 million won on charges of defamation.

Mr. A was indicted in 2018 for defaming the chairman Mr. B of the same union. He was accused of damaging the chairman's reputation with false claims such as "he heard from the company's representative that the union chairman asked for 1% of a 1.5% wage increase to be given to union members and 0.5% for himself once the wage negotiation was settled."

In the first trial, the charges were recognized, and Mr. A was sentenced to six months in prison with a one-year suspended sentence. The court judged, "Although the remarks could lower the social evaluation of the union chairman, he continued to make statements based on speculation without specific verification procedures."

However, the second trial's judgment differed. While acknowledging that Mr. A's statements were false and that he failed to verify the facts with the company or the union chairman, the court found no evidence that he knowingly spread false information. The second trial court stated, "Based on the evidence submitted by the prosecution alone, it is insufficient to recognize that Mr. A knew the facts he mentioned were false." Nevertheless, even accepting Mr. A's claims, such actions were deemed to constitute defamation by stating facts, and he was fined 5 million won.

The Supreme Court also affirmed the fine, stating, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment regarding the intent of defamation and the legal principles concerning the stating of facts."

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