[Exclusive] Jang Dong-hyuk named as a witness in YouTubers’ stalking trial over “When will you sell your six homes?”; no-approach order extended again

[Financial News] A court has decided to call Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, as a witness in the trial of hosts of a progressive-leaning YouTube channel indicted on charges of stalking him.
According to legal sources on the 20th, Judge Ko So-young of Criminal Division 9, sitting as a single-judge panel at the Seoul Southern District Court, recently named Jang as a witness in the trial of Choi and Park, identified only by their surnames, hosts of the YouTube channel “Jeongchi Hanjan Nabal Dongnipgun.” They were indicted on charges including violating the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes.
The Seoul Southern Regional Prosecution Office filed an application on the 12th to have Jang testify, and the court sent him a summons the following day requiring him to appear at a hearing on the 18th of next month.
Choi and Park were sent to trial on charges of stalking Jang a total of 27 times from late last year through early this year, repeatedly following him while he was carrying out official duties, filming him and asking, “When are you going to sell your six homes?”
During a political dispute between the ruling and opposition parties over the government’s real estate measures announced in October last year, Jang, who was then chair of the People Power Party’s Special Committee on Normalizing Real Estate Policy, became embroiled in controversy over owning multiple homes.
At their first hearing on the 12th, Choi and Park’s side denied all the charges, saying, “It was legitimate reporting activity, not stalking.” They also argued that none of the submitted evidence contained statements made directly by Jang, only remarks from his aides or the complainant’s representative, and that Jang therefore needed to be questioned as a witness. They also emphasized that some videos showed Jang approaching the defendants first and asking to shake hands.
Meanwhile, on the 16th, the court once again extended the period of the provisional measure barring them from approaching Jang. In April, the court granted a prosecution request made in response to a police application and ordered them not to come within 100 meters of Jang. The measure, initially in effect through July, had already been extended through October.
Earlier, in March, Jang’s side filed a complaint against Choi and Park with the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station. Police referred the two to prosecutors in June, and the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office (now the Seoul Southern Regional Prosecution Office), which took over the case, indicted them without detention in August.
[email protected] Park Seong-hyeon Reporter