Court Allows Partial Broadcast of Kim Geon-hee's 7-Hour Call Including Political Views (Comprehensive)

Kim Geon-hee's Side Partially Granted Injunction to Ban MBC Broadcast
Court: "Investigation-Related Content Risks Violating Right to Remain Silent, Broadcast Ban"

Kim Gun-hee, the wife of Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party and CEO of Kobana Contents, is making a statement regarding allegations of false credentials on the afternoon of the 26th of last month at the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The court partially granted an injunction request filed by Kim Gun-hee, spouse of the People Power Party's presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, against MBC, which is reportedly set to release a 7-hour-long recorded phone conversation between her and a reporter.

The Seoul Western District Court Civil Division 21 (Chief Presiding Judge Park Byung-tae) on the 14th partially granted the injunction request filed by Kim against MBC, prohibiting the broadcast of "statements by the creditor (Kim Gun-hee’s side) regarding an ongoing investigation."

The court stated, "Since the creditor's (Kim’s) statements related to an ongoing investigation appear to be included, there is a significant risk that if the creditor is subject to investigation or inquiry regarding the case in the future, rights guaranteed under criminal procedure, such as the right to remain silent, may be infringed," and thus made this judgment.

However, regarding parts where Kim expressed political opinions unrelated to the investigation, the court ruled that these cannot be considered private matters and found it difficult to justify the necessity of the injunction request filed by Kim’s side.

On the day, Kim’s side argued, "The recording file was illegally obtained by reporter A, who has an opposing stance to Yoon Seok-yeol, deliberately approaching Kim, who was mentally weakened due to various suspicions and negative media reports, to record private conversations." However, the court held, "The Protection of Communications Secrets Act prohibits recording or listening to conversations between others that have not been disclosed, but since the recording file is a conversation between reporter A and Kim, it does not fall under 'undisclosed conversations between others.'"

Furthermore, the court recognized Kim as a "public figure" as the spouse of Yoon Seok-yeol, who registered as a presidential preliminary candidate. The court stated, "Views on social issues and political opinions are matters of public interest and contribute to public opinion formation and open debate on social issues. Therefore, it is difficult to consider them as purely private matters."

According to the People Power Party, Kim had 10 to 15 phone calls with A, who was in charge of filming for the YouTube channel 'Seoul’s Voice,' from July to early December last year. MBC reportedly received the recorded files of these calls from A and is preparing to broadcast them on a current affairs program on the 16th of this month.

According to OhmyNews, which reported the imminent release of the audio recording file the day before, the 7-hour-long audio file includes content criticizing the Moon Jae-in administration, the prosecution investigation of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, and the non-attendance of witness Jeong Dae-taek at the National Assembly audit.

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