Former KTV Chief Eun-woo Lee, Who Ordered Deletion of Captions Criticizing Martial Law, Again Gets Suspended Prison Term on Appeal

[Financial News] Eun-woo Lee, former head of the Public Policy Broadcasting Service (KTV), who was put on trial for allegedly ordering the selective deletion of news captions criticizing martial law during the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration, was again sentenced to a suspended prison term on appeal.
A panel led by Presiding Judge Yoon Sung-sik of Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul High Court rejected both the defendant's and the prosecution's appeals on the 30th in the appellate trial of Lee, who was indicted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of the exercise of rights. The lower court's sentence of one year in prison, suspended for two years, was upheld.
Lee was indicted for allegedly ordering the head of the Broadcast News Department and the editing team leader, both public officials under his authority, to selectively delete scrolling news criticizing the unconstitutionality and illegality of martial law from approximately 1:37 a.m. to 4:04 a.m. on Dec. 4, 2024, shortly after emergency martial law was declared. The order allegedly made the employees perform acts they were not obligated to perform.
At the previous closing hearing, the special counsel team sought a five-year prison sentence, arguing that Lee had controlled the media for himself and the forces behind martial law rather than for the public. The special counsel appealed, claiming that the first-trial sentence was too lenient, while Lee's side appealed on the grounds of factual and legal errors and argued for his acquittal.
The appellate panel found the first trial's guilty verdict justified. It rejected Lee's appeal seeking acquittal.
Regarding the abuse-of-power charge, the court ruled, "The defendant's instruction to public officials under his authority to selectively delete scrolling news criticizing emergency martial law violated the fairness and balance of broadcasting stipulated in the former Broadcasting Act and infringed the public's right to know," adding, "He also violated his duty as a public official to perform his duties faithfully and fairly, and the degree of illegality and impropriety reached a level that cannot be regarded as the performance of the ordinary duties of his office."
The court also upheld the guilty finding on the requirement for abuse of power that the defendant must have made someone perform an act they were not obligated to perform. It stated, "Although the organization and operation of scrolling news fall within the director's official authority, the reporting provisions of the Broadcasting Act and KTV's internal self-review regulations apply, meaning that the standards and procedures for programming are stipulated by law," and added, "Since working-level staff also held delegated approval authority and had been assigned their own powers and roles, ordering them to delete the captions in violation of their duties under the Broadcasting Act constituted making them perform an act they were not obligated to perform."
However, the court found that imposing a heavier sentence than the first trial had imposed would not be reasonable. It explained, "No registered scrolling news was aired during the special news broadcast, and the defendant's deletion order and the actual deletion occurred after the National Assembly passed a resolution calling for the lifting of martial law and after the special news broadcast ended. Therefore, the extent to which the public's right to know about the real-time situation was infringed was limited," adding, "It is difficult to conclude that the lower court's sentence was excessively harsh or lenient and outside the bounds of reasonableness."
Meanwhile, the Second Comprehensive Special Counsel Team, led by Special Counsel Kwon Chang-young, additionally indicted Lee last month on charges of propaganda for insurrection for repeatedly broadcasting news asserting the legitimacy of insurrectionary acts, including emergency martial law and the martial law proclamation. The first trial is currently underway at the Seoul Central District Court.
[email protected] Lee Chang-hoon Reporter