Former Channel A Reporter Dongjae Lee's Lawsuit for Unfair Dismissal Finalized with Defeat

Former Channel A reporter Dong-jae Lee ultimately lost the lawsuit he filed against the company seeking nullification of his dismissal.

Former Channel A reporter Dongjae Lee.
Photo by Hyunmin Kim

원본보기 아이콘

According to the legal community on the 28th, the Supreme Court Civil Division 1 (Presiding Justice Kim Seon-su) on the 25th upheld the lower court's ruling against Lee in the final appeal of the lawsuit he filed against Channel A to confirm the invalidity of his dismissal.

Channel A dismissed Lee in June 2020, citing violations of journalistic ethics, significant damage to the company's reputation, and obstruction of the company's fact-finding investigation. Lee was accused of attempted coercion for conspiring with Han Dong-hoon, then Chief Prosecutor and now Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, to force Lee Cheol, former CEO of Value Invest Korea, to disclose corruption information about political and social figures including former Roh Moo-hyun Foundation Chairman Yoo Si-min, under threat of severe punishment. The prosecution indicted Lee in August 2020 while he was in custody, but he was acquitted in both the first and second trials, and the verdict was finalized. Han was cleared of charges in April 2022.

Lee filed a lawsuit in November 2020 claiming his dismissal was unfair. However, the first trial court ruled, "The plaintiff mentioned that the investigation into Lee Cheol and his family would extend the prison term and that the family could also be punished together, and referred to having close ties with key senior prosecutors, implying influence over the investigation and trial of Lee Cheol, in order to obtain news information, which is beyond proper journalistic ethics." The appellate court also dismissed the appeal in October last year.

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.