'Park Suhyun Adultery Remark' Kang Yongsuk Also Acquitted in 2nd Trial... Outdoor Interview Results in Fine

Attorney Kang Yong-seok, who was prosecuted for spreading false information about former Blue House spokesperson Park Soo-hyun, was acquitted again in the second trial. However, he was fined for illegal outdoor broadcasting on the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute during the general election period, as in the first trial.

Attorney Kang Yong-seok. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judges Lee Jae-kwon, Song Mi-kyung, Kim Seul-gi) on the 19th sentenced Attorney Kang and former MBC reporter Kim Se-ui, who were prosecuted for violating the Public Official Election Act, to fines of 2 million won each, the same as in the first trial.

The court stated, "After carefully reviewing various claims in the appeal trial, the original judgment is justified," and dismissed both parties' appeals.

Attorney Kang was indicted for defaming former spokesperson Park Soo-hyun by claiming on the Garosero YouTube broadcast that Park resigned due to a women's issue. They were also charged with conducting pre-election campaigning by inviting 14 candidates for interviews outdoors and live streaming them on YouTube from March to April 2020, just before the 21st general election. The election law stipulates that organizations intending to hold talks or debates by inviting candidates must report in advance and hold the events indoors.

The first trial court acquitted Attorney Kang of defamation, stating, "Considering the entire broadcast content, the defendant's point was the adultery suspicion itself, and the position from which the resignation occurred was not a significant part." However, the court rejected their claim that Garosero is not an organization prohibited from election campaigning and that the problematic program was merely a general election special broadcast, not a 'talk'.

Former reporter Kim Yong-ho, who was also prosecuted together, was fined 1 million won in the first trial but passed away in October last year, leading to dismissal of the prosecution.

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