"Ssangbangwool Manages Election Commission Server"... Soojung Lee Ordered to Pay 5 Million Won in Damages

Posted on Social Media Ten Days After the 12·3 Martial Law

Court: "False Information Was Stated"

Soojung Lee, Professor of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University and head of the Suwon Jeong district chapter of the People Power Party, lost a lawsuit after being sued for claiming that the side of former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae, who is implicated in the “North Korea remittance” case, might be managing the National Election Commission's server.

According to Yonhap News on the 16th, the Seoul Western District Court Civil Agreement Division 12 (Presiding Judge Kim Jin-young) ruled partially in favor of the plaintiff on April 10 in a damages lawsuit filed by Company A against Professor Lee, ordering Lee to pay 5 million won to Company A.

On December 13, 2024, ten days after the 12·3 Martial Law, Professor Lee posted on her social media account, “Even if President Yoon Suk-yeol is impeached, the Election Commission must be scrutinized,” and added, “It is necessary to confirm whether the following information is fake news.” The post, which was a forwarded message (known as “jirashi”), claimed that Ssangbangwool, led by former Chairman Kim implicated in the North Korea remittance, was the controlling company of Company A, which managed the Election Commission's server.

Soojung Lee, Professor of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

At the time, Professor Lee deleted the post just one hour after uploading it and, the next day, uploaded a link to an article containing the plaintiff's explanation on her social media. However, Company A filed a lawsuit seeking 1.5 billion won in damages, claiming that Professor Lee posted false information suggesting the possibility of election fraud by incorrectly linking the company, North Korea, and the Election Commission.

The court determined that Professor Lee had stated false information. While it was true that Company A carried out the “Election Information System Integrated Outsourcing Operation Project” for the Election Commission, this occurred a year before Ssangbangwool acquired Company A in 2024. Professor Lee argued that her social media post was a forwarded message and that she merely expressed the need for confirmation, but the court did not accept this. The court pointed out that Professor Lee failed to disclose the precise source of the cited post and implied that the content of the original message was likely to be true.

Professor Lee appealed the ruling on April 13.

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