Former employee who posted online, “Jang Woo-hyuk committed verbal abuse and assault,” acquitted again on appeal

[Financial News]  A former employee of singer Jang Woo-hyuk, formerly of the group H.O.T., was acquitted on appeal, as in the first trial. The employee had been brought to trial on a defamation charge after alleging that Jang had verbally and physically abused them.
On the 15th, the Seoul Western District Court’s Criminal Appeals Division 2-1, presided over by Judge Jeong Seong-gyun, dismissed the prosecution’s appeal and upheld the acquittal of Kim, a former employee of Jang’s agency, who had been indicted for defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.
Earlier, as at the first trial, the prosecution had sought a fine of 2 million won for Kim.
The panel found that it had not been sufficiently proven that the content Kim posted was false. “Even considering the testimony and statements in the related case that the prosecution submitted additionally, they are not enough to overturn the lower court’s ruling,” the panel said, adding, “It is difficult to say that it has been clearly proven to be false.”
The panel found that even if the post’s contents were true, it was difficult to establish an intent to defame. “Given the victim’s status and social influence, there is clearly a public-interest aspect,” the panel said. “Even if the defendant had some other purpose or intent, it is difficult to conclude that there was an intent to disparage.”
Kim was brought to trial over allegations of posting in an online community in June 2022 that a “male executive who was a former first-generation idol” had verbally and physically abused Kim for several years. The post did not name Jang, but the person in question was later identified as him.
Kim claimed in the post that Jang had hit Kim on the back of the head in a taxi during an overseas business trip in 2014, and had also struck the back of Kim’s hand while swearing at Kim in a broadcasting station’s waiting room in 2020.
Jang filed a complaint against Kim, saying the allegations were untrue. The prosecution accepted that there were indications of some verbal abuse and assault, but deemed the claim of a 2020 assault false and sought a summary indictment against Kim. The case proceeded after Kim challenged the summary order and requested a formal trial.
The first-trial panel also found Kim’s statements credible and acquitted Kim. The prosecution appealed on the grounds of factual error and misapplication of the law, but the appellate panel rejected the appeal.
[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter