'Fake Gyeyang Resident' False Information Spread Charge... Lee Jae-myung's Close Associate 'Not Guilty'

Kim Nam-jun, Deputy Chief of Political Affairs in the Democratic Party leader's office, who was indicted for publicly spreading false information about an opposing candidate during the by-election for the National Assembly, was acquitted. Kim is a close aide who worked as a spokesperson and aide alongside Lee Jae-myung since Lee's tenure as mayor of Seongnam.

The Criminal Division 15 of the Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Ryu Ho-jung) delivered this verdict on the 17th in a sentencing hearing for Kim, who was charged with violating the Public Official Election Act.

Kim was indicted without detention on May 23 last year for allegedly spreading false information about Yoon Hyung-sun, the People Power Party candidate competing against Lee in the Incheon Gyeyang-eul by-election scheduled for June 1.

At the time, when the People Power Party criticized, "Candidate Yoon has protected Gyeyang-eul for 25 years, but Candidate Lee has only been in Gyeyang for 25 days," Kim, then spokesperson for Lee's campaign, issued a statement claiming that Candidate Yoon had moved his residence to Gyeyang just before the election.

He stated, "Candidate Yoon called himself a '25-year' 'Gyeyang person' and incited that Candidate Lee had no ties to Gyeyang, but in reality, he himself is a 'fake Gyeyang person' with only 21 days of residence."

The prosecution judged that Kim knew the statement was false at the time but still issued the statement.

Kim Nam-jun, Deputy Director of Political Affairs, Office of the Party Leader, Democratic Party of Korea

However, the court stated, "The prosecutor claimed that the defendant spread false information by calling People Power Party candidate Yoon Hyung-sun a 'fake Gyeyang person,' but this cannot be regarded as a factual assertion."

Furthermore, the court ruled, "The expression related to the local ties of being a 'Gyeyang person' is determined by various factors such as birthplace or residence and cannot be proven by evidence," and "It is difficult to consider the expressions related to the dissemination of false information, as described in the indictment, as a criminal act."

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