Former Employee Who Exposed Jang Woo-hyuk’s Alleged Abuse Online: Appellate Defamation Ruling Due Next Month

[Financial News] The appellate ruling is scheduled for next month in the case of a former agency employee indicted for defamation after posting that singer Jang Woo-hyuk, formerly of H.O.T. (Highfive of Teenagers), had verbally abused and assaulted them.
The Seoul Western District Court’s Criminal Appeals Division 2-1, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Hyun-woo, held an appellate hearing on the 10th for a 43-year-old former agency employee, identified by the surname A, who faces defamation charges under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.
Employee A was indicted for posting on the online community Nate Pann in 2022 that they had been verbally abused and assaulted by Jang. The employee was acquitted at the first trial. Prosecutors appealed, citing errors in fact-finding and misapplication of the law.
At the hearing, prosecutors asked the court to impose the same sentence they had sought at the trial level. A’s legal team argued that the first-instance acquittal was justified and asked the court to dismiss the prosecution’s appeal.
In a final statement, A said, "I wrote the post in the public interest because I did not want any more victims to come forward," adding, "I hope the case is resolved well so that I can return to my ordinary life."
The court is scheduled to deliver its appellate ruling in A’s case on October 15.
[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter