Yang Jin-ho, Convicted for Distributing Obscene Webhard Content, Sentenced to 5 Years in Appeals Trial

Yang Jin-ho, former chairman of Korea Future Technology, who was arrested and indicted for leading the distribution of obscene materials through a webhard cartel and embezzling company funds, was sentenced to five years in prison in the appellate trial as well.

Former Chairman Yang Jin-ho of Korea Future Technology. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 29th, the Criminal Division 1 of Suwon High Court (appellate judges Moon Ju-hyung, Kim Min-sang, Kang Young-jae) sentenced former chairman Yang to five years in prison, the same as the first trial, on charges including violation of the Information and Communications Network Act.

However, the appellate court judged that some of the videos deemed obscene in the first trial were difficult to classify as obscene materials, and found no evidence that the defendant conspired with uploaders on a certain platform to distribute obscene materials, thus acquitting him on those counts.

On the other hand, the appellate court found that the original trial erred in fact-finding and legal interpretation by acquitting the charges that Yang embezzled company funds to purchase artworks, high-end audio equipment, and handwritten letters of An Jung-geun, as well as embezzlement of proceeds from the sale of company-owned stocks, and ruled these charges as guilty.

The court stated, “The defendant owns shares in multiple companies including Lee Ji-won Internet Service, the operator of WEDISK, Sunhan ID, the operator of FileNori, and Korea Internet Technology Institute, which is effectively a holding company, and bears the greatest responsibility for the distribution of obscene materials on platforms such as WEDISK.”

It added, “The defendant used company funds in various ways such as for his children's private tutoring fees, home remodeling costs, and purchasing high-end audio equipment, and the amount of gains from such embezzlement or breach of trust reaches 11.1 billion KRW.”

The court explained the sentencing rationale, saying, “However, regarding copyright infringement, the defendant reached a settlement with the victim companies and paid damages. Considering that the crimes of embezzlement and breach of trust were committed against companies in which the defendant effectively held all shares, and that most of the damages have been recovered, this was taken into account in sentencing.”

Yang was arrested and indicted in August 2019 on charges including organizing and abetting the systematic distribution of obscene materials by operating webhard companies and filtering companies, thereby gaining enormous profits.

Meanwhile, Yang was indicted in December 2018 on charges including habitual assault, violation of the Narcotics Control Act (marijuana), violation of the Animal Protection Act, and violation of the Firearms and Ammunition Act. The Supreme Court confirmed a five-year prison sentence in April 2021 for these charges. Separately, a two-year prison sentence was confirmed in June last year for breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. If the current sentence is finalized as is, Yang’s total prison term will amount to 12 years.

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