Police decide not to refer columnist who criticized President Lee to prosecutors

A columnist who was accused of defamation after writing a column critical of President Lee Jae-myung has been cleared of the charge.
According to reporting by Financial News on the 6th, Yongsan Police Station in Seoul decided on December 29 last year not to refer columnist Park, who had been accused under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection for defamation, on the grounds of "no suspicion."
Police concluded that Park’s column expressed a personal opinion on political and social issues, and that it was difficult to view it as specifying false facts that defamed anyone’s reputation.
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea filed a criminal complaint with police, claiming that Park had stated false facts in a column criticizing President Lee. The column in question was published last August by an online media outlet under the headline, "A country where a single presidential remark can wipe out a company."
The column criticized President Lee for describing a series of fatal accidents at a POSCO E&C worksite at the time as "murder by dolus eventualis." In July last year, during a State Council meeting, President Lee had referred to the industrial accident deaths at POSCO E&C and condemned them as "murder by dolus eventualis."
In the column, Park wrote, "Here, we must borrow the president’s own logic," and continued, "Can he really say he did not foresee the tragic consequences, when he drove those around him into extreme pressure to protect himself from judicial risks and pursue his political ambitions?"
Park went on to argue, "Even if he did not directly intend anyone’s death, if he recognized the possibility that his actions could drive someone to the edge of a cliff yet did not stop that headlong rush, is that not the very definition of the 'dolus eventualis' he applies to corporations?"
After news of the Democratic Party of Korea’s complaint became public, the People Power Party issued a strong rebuke, saying, "The moment political power files criminal complaints against its critics, every journalist and citizen feels fear," and adding, "This is exactly how freedom of expression is killed and how democracy is undermined."
welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yoo-ha, Seo Ji-yoon Reporter