Supreme Court Confirms Guilty Verdict for Former Reporter and YouTuber in 'Cho Kuk Defamation' Case

The conviction of a former journalist turned YouTuber, who was prosecuted for defamation by making false statements about former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk on a YouTube broadcast, has been finalized.

According to the legal community on the 23rd, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) upheld the original sentence of six months imprisonment with a one-year probation for YouTuber Woo Jong-chang (67), who was charged with violating the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation).

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul.

The court stated the reason for dismissing Woo’s appeal was that "there was no error in the lower court’s judgment that violated the rules of logic and experience, exceeded the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misinterpreted the legal principles regarding the establishment of the crime of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act."

Woo, a former reporter for Monthly Chosun, claimed on a YouTube broadcast in March 2018 that he had received a tip stating that "Cho Kuk, then Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House, met with Chief Judge Kim Se-yoon at a Korean restaurant near the Blue House between January and early February 2018, just before the first trial sentencing of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil)."

At that time, Cho was serving as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, and Chief Judge Kim was presiding over the first trial of Choi, who was indicted in the political scandal case.

Cho filed a lawsuit against Woo, claiming his honor was damaged by clear falsehoods, and Woo was brought to trial in November 2019.

The first trial court sentenced Woo to eight months in prison and ordered his detention in court.

During the trial, Woo argued that "there were circumstances that made the tip believable," but he failed to reveal the identity of the tipster. Woo only stated that the tipster was a "cultured elderly person in their 70s" who was a loyal viewer of his YouTube channel.

Woo also claimed that he disclosed the existence of the tip to receive additional tips.

However, the court pointed out, "The defendant himself also said on the broadcast that 'the tip content was not confirmed as true,' showing an awareness that the tip might be false. Nevertheless, the defendant disclosed the tip content, which had not yet been confirmed as true, without filtering, and furthermore, evaluated it on the assumption that the tip was true or possibly true."

The court judged that Woo, who had a long career as a reporter for a major domestic daily newspaper, broadcast false information based on vague speculation without sufficient investigation or reasonable verification procedures before the broadcast.

The second trial court also found Woo guilty. However, the appellate court accepted Woo’s claim of excessive sentencing, overturned the first trial’s ruling, and sentenced Woo to six months imprisonment with a one-year probation.

The court stated, "The tip content disclosed in this broadcast concerns public matters related to the performance of duties of the victim, a public figure serving as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House, and there is a need for broader public scrutiny and open verification of such duties than for ordinary individuals."

Additionally, the court noted, "The defendant conducted broadcasts through his YouTube channel analyzing, evaluating, and expressing opinions on the social and political situations and events at the time, including the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and related criminal trials, and this broadcast was part of that series. It does not appear that the defendant conducted this broadcast for personal economic gain or out of private feelings or interests against the victim."

The Supreme Court also found no problem with the appellate court’s judgment.

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