Defamation of Late Former President Roh Moo-hyun by Jeong Jin-seok... Appeal Against First Trial Verdict

Jeong Jin-seok, a member of the People Power Party who was indicted on charges including defamation of the deceased former President Roh Moo-hyun and sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial, has appealed the first trial verdict.

According to the legal community on the 14th, Jeong's side submitted a notice of appeal to Judge Park Byung-gon of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 5, the first trial court, on the 11th.

On the 6th, Jeong Jin-seok, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In September 2017, Jeong posted on his SNS, "The incident where former President Roh, left alone that night after his wife Kwon Yang-sook ran away following a marital quarrel after being investigated by the prosecution on suspicion of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from Park Yeon-cha," which led to a defamation of the deceased and violation of the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation) lawsuit filed by the bereaved family.

Initially, the prosecution filed a summary indictment against Jeong with a fine of 5 million won in September 2021, but the court deemed it necessary to conduct a formal trial and referred the case to a full trial in November last year.

At the sentencing hearing held in June, the prosecution requested the same fine of 5 million won as in the summary indictment, but Judge Park sentenced Jeong to six months in prison. However, he was not detained in court.

At that time, Judge Park stated that the post by Jeong could not be protected under the name of freedom of expression and that it was beyond the limits acceptable to society, with a very bad nature of the crime.

When a prison sentence much harsher than the prosecution's requested fine (5 million won) was handed down, Jeong stated, "I can only understand this as a judgment mixed with emotions and will appeal."

Meanwhile, after the verdict was announced, controversy arose over Judge Park's political bias through his school activities and SNS posts.

It is known that a post written by Judge Park in October 2003, when he was a senior in high school, included the content, "If they (the Grand National Party) want to call for the impeachment of (President Roh Moo-hyun), most of the lawmakers who have eaten up their positions with illegal funds should first resign."

According to media reports, Judge Park follows Twitter accounts mainly of opposition figures such as former President Moon Jae-in, former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Chairman Yoo Si-min, and broadcaster Joo Jin-woo, and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung follows Judge Park's Twitter account. Among Judge Park's past posts is also the statement, "The Democratic Labor Party calls me the 'youngest party member in Yeongtong, Suwon.'"

Some media outlets have raised suspicions that Judge Park requested the deletion of his information from the Legal Professionals Directory in advance, anticipating controversy before the verdict was announced. Currently, Judge Park's information cannot be found in the Korean Legal Professionals Directory operated by the Law Times.

On the previous day, Jeon Ju-hye, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a commentary, "According to reports, Judge Park Byung-gon follows opposition figures such as former President Moon Jae-in and former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Chairman Yoo Si-min, and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung follows Judge Park in return," adding, "A post believed to have been written by Judge Park when he was a senior in high school is full of hostility and contempt toward the Grand National Party, which impeached President Roh Moo-hyun, saying, 'If they want to call for the impeachment of (President Roh), most of the lawmakers who have eaten up their positions with illegal funds should first resign.'" She added, "It is not an exaggeration to call him a 'Nosamo' (supporter of Roh Moo-hyun)."

Jeon criticized, "This is not a judge maintaining political neutrality but a verdict that poured out political views as a supporter of President Roh Moo-hyun and as someone who dislikes the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party," and said, "If it was difficult to make a neutral judgment as a supporter of President Roh, Judge Park should have recused himself."

She added, "Compared to the first trial where former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Chairman Yoo Si-min was fined 5 million won for being indicted for falsely claiming that Minister Han Dong-hoon illegally tracked the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation account, this six-month prison sentence is significantly disproportionate."

As controversy over Judge Park's political inclination spread, the Seoul Central District Court issued a statement titled "Seoul Central District Court's Position on Recent Criminal Verdicts" on the previous day, expressing "deep concern about the excessive criticism directed at the verdict and the judge by mentioning the political inclination of the presiding judge after the first trial verdict in a criminal case involving a current member of the National Assembly."

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