“It’s not for slander”… City council candidate in his 50s who posted false information, not guilty

The defendant who disobeyed the summary order filed a direct trial and was acquitted.
“Requesting to confirm the truth about a candidate for public office is not for the purpose of slandering.”

A man who was indicted for defamation after posting suspicions surrounding a city council candidate on a bulletin board was found not guilty in court.

On the 8th, the Suwon District Court acquitted Mr. A, a man in his 50s, who had been indicted for posting false information on the Internet about a candidate running in the 2022 city council election.

Mr. A was handed over to trial on March 13 on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (Defamation).

At the time, it was confirmed that Mr. A posted a post on the Internet and personal SNS regarding the academic background and suspicion of abuse of power by Mr. B, who was a city council candidate. The prosecution and the court judged that Mr. A was guilty of defamation and requested a summary order of 50 million won in fines, but Mr. A objected and requested a formal trial.

At trial, Mr. A claimed that he only posted a message requesting verification of the candidate's qualifications, and that it was for the public interest, not for the purpose of malicious or aggressive slander.

Accordingly, the court ruled, "When looking at the defendant's post, he was requesting investigation and verification of the matter, and there was no malicious attack." In addition, the public interest in Mr. A's actions was acknowledged, saying, "It is a matter of public interest whether the victim, who was an election candidate, had false educational background information."

Daeryun Law Firm, which represented Mr. A, explained, "The act of publicly revealing facts for the purpose of slander is a crime of defamation, but if the facts concern the public interest, the purpose of slander is denied. The client (Mr. A) posted the article on the grounds that an official confirmation of the truth about the suspicions surrounding a public office candidate was necessary, so the court did not recognize the purpose of slander."

Intern reporter Jeong Ye-eun (ye9@kyeonggi.com)

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“It is not for the purpose of slander”… City council candidate in his 50s, not guilty for posting false information (link)