Hwang Hee-seok Sentenced to 10 Million Won Fine in Appeal for Spreading False Information Regarding Former Reporter Lee Dong-jae

The appellate court has upheld a lower court ruling sentencing Hwang Hee-seok, 56, former Supreme Council member of the Open Democratic Party, to a fine of 10 million won for spreading false information regarding former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae.

Today, Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Yang-hoon) dismissed both the prosecution's and the defendant's appeals in the appellate trial for Hwang, who was indicted on charges including defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

The appellate court stated, "It is recognized that the defendant had an awareness of falsity or intent regarding the statement of false facts at the time of the remarks," adding, "There is no error of law such as misapprehension of facts or legal principles, which was the grounds for the defendant's appeal."

Regarding the claims of unfair sentencing by both Hwang and the prosecution, the court elaborated, "The sentence imposed by the lower court cannot be deemed to have exceeded the reasonable bounds of discretion by being excessively heavy or light."

Hwang is accused of appearing on a YTN radio program in April 2020 and stating, "It is a clear fact that this person (the informant in the Channel A case) met with the Channel A reporter, and that the reporter demanded a false statement and spoke as if inflicting serious harm on former Value Invest Korea (VIK) CEO Lee Chul otherwise."

He is also accused of making similar remarks while appearing on lawmaker Choi Kang-wook's YouTube channel and the YouTube channels Bongju TV and Yongmin TV.

Previously, in the first trial held in May, the court found Hwang guilty and sentenced him to a fine of 10 million won.

As both Hwang and the prosecution appealed the verdict, the appellate trial was held, and during the hearing on October 6, the prosecution demanded a one-year prison sentence.

At the time, the prosecutor stated, "The intent of Hwang's respective remarks was that the victim, a journalist, failed to uphold journalistic ethics and committed wrongful and illegal acts," adding, "The victim's social reputation was damaged, and the blow to it would be considerable."

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