Author Rhee Si-min Reported to Police for Defamation Over Claim That "President Deceived the Public"

Writer Rhee Si-min has been reported to the police after claiming that President Lee Jae-myung "deceived the public" regarding remarks on prosecution reform.

The civic group Citizens' Action for Righteous Judiciary announced today (September 28) that it has filed a complaint against Rhee with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, charging him with defamation by defaming false facts under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

Kim Han-me, standing representative of the civic group, argued that Rhee's remarks made on September 22 during an appearance on the YouTube channel Media Today regarding the Lee Jae-myung administration's prosecution reform constituted false information. Rhee had stated, "The terms investigation and indictment (separation) and prosecution reform were used together, but the contents were different. The president has been deceiving the public until now."

Regarding the president's recent press conference, Rhee previously claimed, "President Lee said that dividing the Ministry of Justice into an 'investigative prosecution' and an 'indicting prosecution' was originally the maximum limit of prosecution reform. I was shocked to hear the president say that at the conference. This is wrong and not true. I have never heard such a thing even once."

Representative Kim argued, "The crime of defamation by defaming false facts is established even in cases where one fails to realize something is untrue despite paying a little attention, and it also includes eventual intent. Rhee stated false facts implying that the president practically hindered prosecution reform while deceiving the public, thereby lowering the president's social reputation and defaming him."

The complaint further stated, "Recalling the process of President Lee's state affairs performance witnessed by the majority of the public over the past year, such as live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings and national press conferences, Rhee's remarks run counter to objective facts and are closer to a 'delusion'."

Kim also urged, "Rhee distributed false facts to emphasize his political views and strengthen his standing as a major speaker within the democratic progressive camp. We urge a thorough investigation so that the constitutional principle of equality before the law is not applied differently to a prominent speaker of the ruling bloc, which would further collapse public trust in the criminal justice system."

Amid this, voices among members of the Democratic Party of Korea are also emerging, calling for a legal response on the grounds that Rhee's criticism of the president has crossed the line.

President Lee posted on X the previous day, saying, "Let us proceed with dignity even if their behavior is vulgar, so that the watching public can evaluate them."

Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok also said today, "It would be good to start by minimizing what makes the other party feel uncomfortable in terms of expression."

The Cheong Wa Dae is also known to be considering taking legal action against Rhee.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.