Supreme Court Confirms Not Guilty Verdict for Reporter Lee Sang-ho on 'Kim Kwang-seok's Wife Defamation' Charge

In Civil Trial, 100 Million Won Compensation Ruling

At the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, lawyer Kim Seong-hoon (right), legal representative for the family of the late singer Kim Kwang-seok and his daughter Kim Seo-yeon, along with Ahn Min-seok, member of the Democratic Party of Korea (left), and reporter Lee Sang-ho from Gobal News, held a press conference raising suspicions of homicide regarding Seo-yeon's death.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Reporter Lee Sang-ho of Gobal News, who was prosecuted for defaming the late singer Kim Kwang-seok's wife Seo Hae-soon, has been acquitted by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) announced on the 13th that it dismissed the prosecutor's appeal in Lee's defamation and insult case and upheld the lower court's verdict of not guilty.

Lee was charged with defaming Seo by spreading false information that Seo had murdered her husband Kim Kwang-seok and their daughter through the 2017 August-released film 'Kim Kwang-seok' and press conferences.

However, in the first trial conducted by a jury trial, Lee was acquitted unanimously by the jury, and the prosecutor's appeal was dismissed in the second trial as well.

The lower courts stated, "Although the defendant definitively expressed that Kim Kwang-seok's death 'was not a suicide,' various suspicions were raised, and it is difficult to conclude that he recognized the falsity."

They judged that Lee's actions were not intended to slander Seo but to urge an investigation.

Regarding the insult charges where Seo was called 'devil' and 'Choi Soon-sil,' the lower courts judged, "Although inappropriate expressions were partially used in emphasizing opinions, considering the methods, it is difficult to conclude that it exceeded the limits of criticism."

During the trial, Seo was requested to appear as a witness but did not attend due to health reasons and others.

Meanwhile, Lee lost the civil lawsuit in which Seo claimed damages.

The second trial court in the civil case doubled the damages recognized in the first trial to 100 million won and ruled accordingly, and the ruling was finalized by the Supreme Court in May 2020.

The second trial court explained, "There is a significant lack of objective grounds to consider Lee's allegations reasonable," adding, "Not only did he simply report false facts, but he also spread false information through various means such as legislative petition inducement, public accusations to investigative agencies, and press conferences, which aggravated Seo's mental distress."

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