Byun Hee-jae Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Spreading 'Tablet PC Manipulation' Claims... Files Constitutional Appeal

Supreme Court Dismisses Final Appeal

Byun Hee-jae (52), CEO of Media Watch, has been sentenced to a two-year prison term, which has now been finalized, for spreading false information related to reports on Choi Seo-won (formerly known as Choi Soon-sil)'s tablet PC.

Byeon Hee-jae, CEO of Media Watch. Yonhap News Agency

According to the legal community on April 17, the Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Kwon Young-jun) finalized the lower court's ruling on March 12 for Byun, who was indicted on charges of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act and defamation by publication.

Previously, Byun was indicted for spreading false claims that JTBC, in collusion with former Blue House administrator Kim Hansoo, obtained the tablet PC, manipulated its files, and reported as if it had been used by Choi Soon-sil.

In the first trial in December 2018, the court found Byun guilty of the charges and sentenced him to two years in prison. The first-instance court ruled that Byun's side failed to present concrete evidence for their claims and determined the statements to be false. The appeals court also reached the same conclusion.

The Supreme Court also dismissed the appeal, stating, "There was no misuse of trial management rights or any errors in the lower court proceedings that influenced the verdict, nor was there any infringement of the constitutional right to a fair trial or the right to defense."

Meanwhile, Byun's side filed a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court on April 10 in protest of the Supreme Court's ruling.

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