"Defamation by Fake News" Han Dong-hoon Wins Partial Damages Suit Against Reporter

Han Dong-hoon, the Minister of Justice, who filed a civil lawsuit claiming that a reporter spread false information, won partial victory in the first trial.

On the 11th, Judge Kim Young-soo of the Civil Division 71 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Minister Han in part, ordering the defendant to pay the plaintiff 10 million won in damages in the 100 million won lawsuit filed against reporter Jang Mo.

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is answering questions from the press while attending the plenary meeting of the Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on March 27. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Immediately after the verdict, Minister Han issued a statement saying, "If no one takes responsibility when harm is caused by clear fake news, such incidents will repeat with other citizens," and added, "We must set a precedent that 'this should not happen.'"

Earlier, in March 2021, reporter Jang posted on her social media accounts, "If Han Dong-hoon, who is said to be so good at investigations, why did he conduct the Haeundae LCT investigation in such a manner?"

At the time, Minister Han, who was a prosecutor general, warned of legal action against the false information, but reporter Jang replied, "It seems the literacy of adults in our country is declining..."

In response, Minister Han’s side claimed, "Malicious fake news was posted on social media, and even afterward, insults were made by referring to literacy deficiencies on SNS and YouTube," and demanded compensation for damages.

The LCT investigation began in November 2017 when Busan Participation Solidarity reported 43 unnamed individuals who received preferential sales as violations of the Housing Act, alleging that the real owner, Lee Young-bok, used the sales rights as a lobbying tool. The Busan District Prosecutors' Office dismissed charges against 41 of the 43 buyers except for two just before the statute of limitations expired in October 2020.

This led to criticism from some quarters calling it a "poor investigation," and Minister Han claimed that he was working in Seoul during the related investigation and was not involved at all.

Meanwhile, reporter Jang expressed her intention to appeal.

She said, "I only asked a question. Are you saying I shouldn't even ask questions?" and added, "I asked why the investigation was not conducted when it wasn’t done."

Reporter Jang stated, "This ruling is interpreted as 'Do not ask powerful people recklessly,' and it is a verdict that is unacceptable in a liberal democratic society."

She continued, "This ruling reminds me once again of the so-called 'Kim Kun-hee 7-hour recording' case, where Kim Kun-hee pointed at me and said, 'I will send you to prison,'" and said, "I will appeal and seek to clarify the truth once again."

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