Jin Jeong-seok's 'Defamation of Roh Moo-hyun' Conviction Sparks Controversy Over Judge's Bias

與 "Judge's Political Orientation" vs 野 "Prosecutor's Political Investigation"

Jin-seok Jeong, a member of the People Power Party, has sparked a political controversy after being sentenced to prison in the first trial for defaming the late former President Roh Moo-hyun. The ruling party criticized the verdict as unusual and questioned the judge's 'political inclination,' while the opposition party countered by calling it a 'political investigation,' pointing out that the prosecution brought Jeong to trial after five years.

Previously, the prosecution had filed a summary indictment against Jeong with a fine of 5 million won for defaming the late President Roh Moo-hyun, but the court sentenced him to six months in prison. Jeong announced he would appeal, calling the decision an "emotional judgment."

Geun-tae Kim, the standing deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party, issued a statement on the 14th, raising his voice against "Judge Park Byung-gon's irrational prison sentence, a ruling that ignores legal common sense and fairness." He particularly criticized Judge Park's past blog posts, claiming that his political leanings influenced the trial outcome.

Jeong Jin-seok, a member of the People Power Party who was prosecuted for defaming the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, is speaking after being sentenced to six months in prison at the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News

Deputy Spokesperson Kim said, "There are even criticisms within the legal community that the ruling lacks consistency with other cases," adding, "It is impossible to dismiss the suspicion that the ideological and political inclinations of Judge Park Byung-gon, who presided over the case, played a role behind this irrational verdict."

He continued, "It is said that in a self-introduction blog post written by Judge Park during his school days, there was a shocking statement: 'Under orders from an underground party to promote the communist takeover of the legal community, I infiltrated Hanyang University Law School to incite leftist tendencies among prospective legal professionals.'"

In response, the Democratic Party's Committee for Countermeasures Against Prosecutorial Dictatorship and Political Oppression argued that the prosecution's indictment of Jeong after five years, following a complaint by the bereaved family, was a 'political investigation.'

They stated, "According to the verdict, the prosecutor requested a fine of 5 million won for Jeong, arguing that 'five years have passed since the offense, which should be considered a favorable circumstance for the defendant.' Isn't the prosecution itself responsible for dragging out the investigation for five years?"

In front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

They further explained, "The actual verdict states that 'postal investigations on the defendant were conducted only around late August to early September 2018, nearly a year after the complaint was filed, and the defendant was interrogated as a suspect only in January 2020, more than a year later.'"

Regarding the ruling party's claim that Judge Park's political leanings influenced the verdict, the opposition retorted, "The lack of evidence was so severe that they cited as proof of political bias that 'Judge Park follows opposition figures such as former President Moon Jae-in and former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Chairman Yoo Si-min, and in turn, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung follows Judge Park.' It seems they fail to see the problem of the prosecution's biased investigation and indictment, which has been consistently lenient to protect their own."

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