[Breaking News] Park Soo-hong's sister-in-law sentenced to 12 million won fine in appeal trial over 'KakaoTalk defamation'

*This content was translated by AI.

A court has sentenced Park Soo-hong's sister-in-law, Ms. Lee, who was brought to trial for spreading false information and defaming the broadcasting couple Park Soo-hong and his wife, to a fine.

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Appeals Division 1 held a sentencing hearing on the 23rd for Ms. Lee on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (defamation).

On that day, the court sentenced Ms. Lee to a fine of 12 million won.

Ms. Lee was indicted for sending messages containing false facts, such as claiming that Park Soo-hong cohabited with a woman during his broadcasting activities, in a KakaoTalk group chat with the intent to defame the Park Soo-hong couple.

According to the Prosecution Service, Ms. Lee is accused of spreading false information in a KakaoTalk group chat with the intent to defame Park Soo-hong. Investigation results revealed that statements such as "Park Soo-hong's words are lies" and "Park Soo-hong is cohabiting with a certain woman" were exchanged in the group chat, and it was also revealed that Ms. Lee, who was inside the group chat, posted these messages on online communities.

Subsequently, the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 9, which served as the first-instance court, sentenced Ms. Lee to a fine of 12 million won at the sentencing hearing, finding that charges of defamation and disparagement were established. During the closing arguments at that time, the Prosecution Service requested a prison sentence of 10 months for Ms. Lee, stating: "She made false statements about a celebrity in a group chat, damaging their reputation; the crime is not minor. She denies the charges and shows no remorse. She has taken no measures to help the victim recover from the harm, and the victim also seeks severe punishment."

At that time, the court stated in its ruling regarding Ms. Lee's disparagement of Park Soo-hong through a group chat claiming he had a woman with whom he was cohabiting: "There is no evidence that Ms. Lee directly witnessed a woman who could be considered Park Soo-hong's cohabitant when he appeared on 'My Little Old Boy,' and the location she allegedly saw them was not inside the house but in a parking lot. The claim that there were women's products in Park Soo-hong's home is also, even if true, something that could easily occur between people in a romantic relationship."

The court continued: "Despite having no direct knowledge of such facts, Ms. Lee frequently claimed as if she often witnessed 'there is always a woman' in the group chat and had others spread this information. Even if Ms. Lee was asking about truthful matters, the act itself cannot be considered to have a legitimate reason." The court further stated: "Currently, with Park Soo-hong's older brother and Ms. Lee involved in a legal dispute that has drawn public attention, it appears she sought to shape public opinion in her favor, indicating a strong intent to defame Park Soo-hong. She transmitted the content defaming Park Soo-hong directly into the chat room and executed measures such as writing comments on online news articles to ensure wider dissemination. Given Park Soo-hong's profession, the degree of defamation is significant, and false information spread via the internet has caused substantial harm. Yet Ms. Lee only presents her own and her family's situation with unconvincing excuses, makes no effort to seek forgiveness from the victim, and shows no remorse."

In the subsequent second-instance trial, the Prosecution Service requested that the court reject the defendant's appeal and impose a 10-month prison sentence, consistent with the first-instance request.

Ms. Lee's lawyer again denied the charges and argued for acquittal. The lawyer stated: "It is difficult to conclude that the prosecutor's indictment has been proven beyond reasonable doubt." He added: "The defendant witnessed women's items in the victim's home on multiple occasions, and based on this, there was a substantial reason to believe the victim was living with a woman." The lawyer continued: "Regarding the victim's public discussion of family property issues through the media, the defendant sought to explain her and her family's unjust treatment and correct the factual circumstances. Her primary motive was not defamation but clarification. It was strongly defensive in nature."

However, during her final statement, Ms. Lee said: "Although this was an extremely personal conversation with acquaintances, I apologize for hurting Park Soo-hong and Kim Da-ye through this conversation. I feel ashamed of my unwise and rash words and actions. I have realized how foolish and shameful my behavior was. I deeply reflect on it and will ensure such incidents never happen again. I will strive to be a mother whom my children do not need to be ashamed of."

Earlier, during the first-instance closing arguments, Ms. Lee shed tears while stating: "As an ordinary housewife, I married and lived with my children and in-laws for 20 years. Yet, because of one comment, I was labeled as someone who embezzled 11.6 billion won, and criticism directed at my children continued. As a result, my daughter suffered mental trauma and is undergoing psychiatric treatment and psychological counseling." She added: "Nevertheless, the case against us is still ongoing. It has been very difficult, but we are trying to endure and overcome it," repeatedly requesting leniency.

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*This content was translated by AI.