"‘Lee Jae-myung Assassination Politics’ by a United Power Responsible Party Member... Fined in First Trial"

Violation of Public Official Election Act Charges
Court: "Fake News... But No Significant Impact on Election"

A man in his 40s who was prosecuted for defaming Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, during the 20th presidential election on the 14th was sentenced to a fine in the first trial. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] A man in his 40s who was prosecuted for defaming Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, during the 20th presidential election was sentenced to a fine in the first trial.

The Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Judge Moon Byung-chan) announced on the 20th that it sentenced Mr. A (49), who was indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, to a fine of 5 million won on the 14th.

Mr. A, a responsible member of the People Power Party, is accused of publishing false information and defaming the candidate through his social networking service (SNS) account with the intent to prevent the candidate from being elected.

According to the court, around January 20, Mr. A posted a message titled “What happens when you insult Governor Lee Jae-myung... This happened after sending an insulting text on the right side. #LeeJaeMyung #AssassinationPolitics,” stating that “around 2018, the candidate caused a 30-year-old close friend who sent him an insulting text message to commit suicide by jumping.”

The court ruled, “The ‘person who died by jumping’ and the ‘friend who sent an insulting text message to candidate Lee Jae-myung’ are not the same person,” and “It was reported in the media that this is fake news that pieced together unrelated separate incidents.”

It added, “There is a risk of causing confusion in voters’ proper decision-making, undermining the fairness of elections, which is the foundation of democracy, and causing the general public to have a wrong perception of the candidate, so the nature of the crime is serious.”

However, the court explained the sentencing by stating, “Mr. A admitted his wrongdoing, and it is difficult to see that he directly created the posted content,” and “After being contacted by the investigative agency, Mr. A appears to have made the post private, and it is not believed that the defendant’s posting had a significant impact on the election results.”

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