Court Dismisses Lee Jae-yong's Lawyer's Defamation Lawsuit... "Not False Reporting"

Lee Jae-yong's Lawyer: "We Talked with the Prosecutor but Never Asked to Exclude Samsung Life"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] The lawsuit filed by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's lawyers, who claimed that media reports stating they requested the investigation team to exclude the Samsung Life Insurance part from Lee's arrest warrant were false, was dismissed.

On the 8th, the Civil Division 12 of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Byungsam) announced that it dismissed the correction report claim lawsuit filed by Lee's lawyers Lee Dong-yeol and Choi Jae-kyung against Hankyoreh Newspaper.

The court ruled, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the plaintiffs, it is insufficient to recognize that the content reported by the defendant in each report of this case is false."

It added, "Shortly after the indictment, a reporter belonging to the defendant had a phone call on September 11, 2020, with a prosecutor from Lee Jae-yong's investigation team, and it is acknowledged that the prosecutor said, 'Attorney Choi Jae-kyung contacted me and requested to exclude the Samsung Life Insurance part from the criminal charges.' It appears that another reporter from the defendant also confirmed this through two phone calls," the court stated.

The court explained the reason for dismissal, saying, "In fact, the plaintiffs visited the prosecutor's office six times, and considering that the prosecution was taking emergency measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the time, there was generally no reason for the lawyers to visit the prosecution in person unless there were special circumstances. Taking all this into account, the possibility that such a statement was made cannot be excluded."

Hankyoreh Newspaper reported on September 16, 2020, citing a prosecutor from the investigation team handling Lee's case, who was under investigation for allegations of management succession, stating, "In June 2020, lawyer Lee Dong-yeol said, 'The Samsung Life Insurance-related part is sensitive, so please exclude it. This was a request from lawyer Choi Jae-kyung.'

In response, Lee's lawyers filed a lawsuit, arguing, "Although we had phone calls to discuss the schedule for appearing before the prosecution as lawyers, there was no statement requesting to exclude the Samsung Life Insurance part, so the defendant reported false information."

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