Conservative YouTuber An Jeong-gwon Arrested and Indicted for 'Insulting Moon'... Prosecutors Say Motive Was Economic Gain

Right-wing YouTuber Ahn Jung-kwon, who is accused of insulting former President Moon Jae-in and his wife, is answering questions from reporters before entering the Incheon District Court for a warrant hearing on the 5th. 2022.9.5 [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Conservative YouTuber Ahn Jeong-kwon (43), accused of insulting former President Moon Jae-in and his wife, has been indicted.

The Criminal Division 6 of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Son Sang-wook) announced on the 7th that Ahn was arrested and indicted on charges of insult and violation of the Public Official Election Act. In addition, A (39), who works as the head of management support at an internet broadcasting company where Ahn is the representative, was also indicted without detention on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

Earlier, Judge Kim Hyun-duk, head judge in charge of warrants at Incheon District Court, conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) for Ahn on the 5th and issued the warrant, citing "risk of flight."

Ahn is accused of insulting former President Moon and his wife by holding seven rallies near the private residence in Pyeongsan Village, Yangsan City, Gyeongnam Province, from May 12 to May 30 this year, immediately after Moon’s retirement, using a loudspeaker to utter curses 48 times.

He held protests at a location directly facing the residence and broadcasted live on YouTube, reportedly earning significant revenue through supporters' donations. Earlier, the former President Moon’s side filed a complaint against Ahn on charges including insult in May.

Ahn is also accused of broadcasting defamatory content against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party and a candidate in the 20th presidential election, 13 times from late September last year to March this year. During this period, A was investigated to have participated in three defamatory broadcasts together with Ahn.

The prosecution judged that their motive was "pursuit of economic gain."

An official from the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said, "By tracing financial transaction records, we confirmed circumstances where Ahn uploaded defamatory videos of (former President) Moon to the internet broadcasting company he operates and received large donations," and added, "We judged the defendants’ crimes to be serious as they disturbed election order for economic gain under the guise of freedom of assembly, and violated others’ fundamental rights through rallies involving insults against specific individuals, leading to the arrest and indictment of the main perpetrator Ahn."

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