MB Loses First Trial in Defamation Lawsuit Over 'Overseas Slush Fund Allegations' Correction Request

by Kim HyeongMin

Published 08 Sep.2021 16:12(KST)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former President Lee Myung-bak filed a lawsuit against a media outlet that reported on his alleged overseas slush funds but lost in the first trial.

The Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 25 (Presiding Judge Lee Gwan-yong) ruled on the 8th that the plaintiff lost in the defamation correction lawsuit filed by former President Lee against MBC and the cast of the current affairs program 'Straight.'

In November 2018, MBC Straight aired a segment titled 'Remingbo's Remittance - Interim Report on MB's Overseas Account Investigation,' in which they secured testimony from Mr. A, who shares the same name as a close aide of the former president, stating that a person called 'Remingbo' (the Chinese pronunciation of 'Lee Myung-bak') once tried to send him a large sum of dollars.

The production team explained on the broadcast that the bank accounts created by Remingbo and the close aide of the former president were linked, and that these accounts might have been used to store the former president's slush funds.

In December of the same year, former President Lee filed a lawsuit demanding a correction of the report, deletion of the video-on-demand (VOD), and damages of 350 million won, claiming that the broadcast content was false.