Court Orders "The TamSa" to Stay at Least 100m Away from Han Dong-hoon's Residence

No Access Within 100m Until February 9 Next Year

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The court issued a restraining order against a reporter from the citizen media outlet The Tam-sa, who was accused of trespassing after visiting the home of Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon.

According to the legal community on the 11th, Judge Lee Won-jung of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 19 recently issued a written warning to Kang Jin-gu, co-representative and reporter of The Tam-sa, to cease stalking crimes and ordered him not to approach within 100 meters of Minister Han’s residence until February 9 of next year.

The court stated, "The act of live streaming on YouTube in front of the victim’s residence door was not solely for reporting purposes but is highly likely to be considered stalking behavior from a general perspective."

However, the court judged that Kang’s following of Minister Han’s official vehicle was difficult to view as stalking and dismissed the prosecution’s request to also prohibit approaching the driver. The request to ban communication using telecommunication devices was also rejected.

The court explained, "The truth of the so-called Cheongdam-dong drinking party allegations is still under investigation, so it cannot be confirmed. It cannot be overstated how important the freedom of the press to investigate public officials who are subjects of suspicion and the press’s role in monitoring power are in a democratic society."

Earlier, five members of The Tam-sa, including Mr. Kim, attempted to open the door lock at the front door of Minister Han’s residence through the shared entrance of the apartment in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where the minister lives, on the 27th of last month.

They said, "Although we do not have compulsory investigative authority, we want Minister Han to empathize with how the journalists feel after police investigators conducted a surprise search and seizure on Sunday," and conducted a live YouTube broadcast near the minister’s residence. In response, Minister Han filed a complaint against them for joint trespassing.

The Tam-sa had previously been accused of defamation for raising allegations that Minister Han had a late-night drinking party in Cheongdam-dong with President Yoon Seok-yeol and lawyers from Kim & Chang law firm.

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