Supreme Court Confirms Fine for Seoul Pharmaceutical Association President over 'Defamatory Texts Against Rival Candidate'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] A sitting president who sent defamatory text messages against an opposing candidate during the Seoul Pharmaceutical Association election has been sentenced to a fine.

According to the legal community on the 15th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) upheld the original ruling that sentenced President Han Dong-ju to a fine of 2 million won for violating the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation).

President Han was indicted on charges of sending text messages four times to about 7,700 members during the Seoul Pharmaceutical Association presidential election campaign in December 2018, alleging that the opposing candidate was involved in incidents such as embezzlement or breach of trust.

The first trial court recognized guilt, reasoning that President Han, the accuser, could not have been unaware that the prosecution's investigation concluded with no charges, and thus he knowingly or at least negligently committed the act with awareness of its falsity. The court sentenced him to a fine of 3 million won. The second trial court acquitted some charges, reducing the fine to 2 million won.

The second trial court judged that among the charges against President Han, the text messages claiming that the opposing candidate employed unqualified persons to sell pharmaceuticals could not be definitively considered as having the purpose of defamation, even though the prosecution had already dismissed charges against the opposing candidate. The Supreme Court found no legal errors in the second trial's judgment and confirmed the fine.

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