'Allegations of An Ik-tae's Pro-Japanese Activities'... Seoul High Prosecutors' Office Justifies Non-Indictment of Kim Won-woong

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Kim Won-woong, chairman of the Liberation Association, who raised suspicions of pro-Japanese activities against Ahn Ik-tae, the composer of the national anthem, and was sued by the bereaved family, has once again been dismissed by the prosecution.

According to the legal community on the 18th, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office dismissed the appeal case regarding defamation of the deceased filed by Ahn Ik-tae's nephew, David Ahn (Ahn Kyung-yong), against Chairman Kim, stating that "no evidence was found to recognize that the original non-prosecution decision was unjust."

Chairman Kim claimed at the 75th Liberation Day celebration on August 15, 2020, that "the Liberation Association obtained materials related to Ahn Ik-tae's pro-Japanese and pro-Nazi activities from the German government. Among them is a video of Ahn Ik-tae conducting a concert in Berlin celebrating the 10th anniversary of the founding of Manchukuo."

In response, Mr. Ahn filed a complaint against Chairman Kim with the prosecution, which forwarded the case to the Seoul Jungbu Police Station. However, the police decided not to prosecute in April last year due to insufficient evidence. Subsequently, Mr. Ahn appealed, and after reviewing the case, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office judged that it was difficult to conclude that Chairman Kim's statements were false or that he was aware of their falsity, and thus issued a non-prosecution disposition.

Meanwhile, it is known that Mr. Ahn's side plans to discuss with the bereaved family and file a re-investigation request regarding the dismissal of the appeal.

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