Prosecutors Summarily Indict Jeong Jin-seok on Charges of Defamation Against Late Former President Roh Moo-hyun and His Wife

Jin Jeong-seok, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Jeong Jin-seok, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, has been summarily indicted on charges of defaming the late former President Roh Moo-hyun and his wife.

On the 1st, the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Park Hyuksu) announced that they had summarily indicted Deputy Speaker Jeong on charges of defamation of the deceased former President Roh and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act against his wife, Kwon Yang-sook.

A summary indictment is a procedure in which the prosecution requests the imposition of fines or penalties through written examination instead of a formal trial. If the parties or the court do not express the intention to refer the case to a formal trial, the sentence becomes final.

Previously, when Jeong was a member of the Liberty Korea Party (now the People Power Party) in September 2017, he caused controversy by writing on Facebook about the death of former President Roh, stating, "After the former President's wife, Kwon Yang-sook, and their son were investigated by the prosecution on suspicion of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from Park Yeon-cha, Kwon left home following a marital dispute, and that night, the former President, left alone, took his own life."

The bereaved family, including former President Roh's son Geon-ho, filed a complaint alleging that Deputy Speaker Jeong defamed former President Roh and Mrs. Kwon.

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