Hansanghyuk's Side "Only One Trial Held, 'Clearing Charges' Is Unfair"

Former Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, Han Sang-hyuk's side has protested, stating that they cannot acknowledge the 'substantiation of indictment charges,' which was the reason for the dismissal of the suspension of the dismissal order.

Hansanghyeok, Former Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission [Image source=Yonhap News]

Han's side argued this during the hearing of the appeal against the suspension of the dismissal order held on the 13th at the Seoul High Court Administrative Division 7 (Presiding Judges Kim Dae-woong, Kim Sang-cheol, Bae Sang-won). Han did not attend the hearing that day.

Han filed an application for suspension of the dismissal order against President Yoon Seok-yeol, but it was dismissed on the 23rd of last month. Han immediately filed an appeal against this decision.

The first trial court found that the indictment charges leading to Han's dismissal?such as the recognition of the post-modification of TV Chosun's re-approval evaluation scores and the instruction to create and distribute false press releases stating that "the KCC did not interfere with the evaluation scores of the judges"?were "substantiated."

Han's side stated on the day, "Only one criminal trial session has been conducted so far, and although new facts are being identified, it is most unfair to be accused of committing a crime," adding, "There are many parts that need to be clarified through witness examination in the criminal trial, so we have doubts about the claim that the charges have been substantiated."

In response, President Yoon's side rebutted, "There is no logical contradiction because the act (indictment charges) was recognized as a requirement under another condition of the first trial's judgment, namely 'the risk of causing significant impact on public welfare,' which is considered separately." They also added, "Our argument is that even based on the facts acknowledged by the applicant, there are sufficient grounds for dismissal."

Han was indicted on May 2 for appointing a civic group member who had opposed TV Chosun as a judge in March-April 2020 and for allegedly knowing about and tolerating the manipulation of TV Chosun's evaluation scores. On the 30th of the same month, President Yoon approved Han's dismissal on the grounds of violating the KCC Act and the National Public Service Act, among others.

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