Supreme Court: "Non-prosecution of MBC Reporter on Choi Kyung-hwan's 'SillaJen Suspicion' Report is Appropriate"

The Supreme Court has finally ruled that the prosecution's decision not to indict MBC reporters who reported on former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan's alleged involvement with SillaJen was appropriate.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Min Yoo-sook) on the 31st of last month dismissed Choi's final appeal against the Seoul High Court's decision to reject his petition for a review.

A petition for review is a system where a complainant who disagrees with the prosecution's decision not to indict requests the competent high court to determine whether to file charges. If the court accepts the petition, the prosecutor must file charges.

On April 1, 2020, MBC reported the claim made by Lee Cheol, former CEO of Value Invest Korea (VIK), that "Choi, who was Minister of Strategy and Finance in 2014, invested 500 million won in SillaJen convertible bonds, and a person close to him invested 6 billion won."

Former Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Kyung-hwan is seated at the '60th Anniversary International Conference on the Establishment of the Five-Year Economic Development Plan' held on May 25 at the Fairmont Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. On the left is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Immediately after the report was released, Choi filed a lawsuit against Lee and MBC reporters and others involved, alleging defamation due to false information.

The prosecution investigating the case judged that the report was false and indicted Lee on charges of defamation by publication, but decided not to indict the MBC reporters and others involved.

Choi's side filed a petition for review, arguing that it was unfair to only not indict the MBC reporters, but the Seoul High Court dismissed the petition in November 2021. Dissatisfied, he sought a ruling from the Supreme Court, which also dismissed it.

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