Cho Byung-kyu, the school violence whistleblower, attends trial without a lawyer: "Need to verify the truth" [Star Scene]

*This content was translated by AI.

Male A, who raised allegations of school violence against actor Cho Byung-kyu, personally attended the appeal hearing in the damages lawsuit.

The Seoul High Court's 13th Civil Division (B) held the first argument session for the appeal trial on the 28th regarding Cho Byung-kyu's damages lawsuit filed against A, who raised allegations of school violence against him. Unlike the first instance, former agency HB Entertainment is no longer listed as an appellant in this case, and the plaintiff's claim has been reduced to approximately 9 billion won. Additionally, today's trial was conducted via video conference.

On this day, A appeared in court through his own voice. The court requested identity verification. A stated, "I maintain dual nationality of South Korea and New Zealand. I am a person with congenital dual nationality and have no litigation representative. I did not receive the complaint but am aware of the verdict result and have reviewed the trial records."

When A added, "I also submitted a preparatory brief," the court pointed out that "a preparatory brief is not evidence."

Subsequently, Cho Byung-kyu's side stated, "There are doubts about the necessity of witness testimony, and it has been confirmed that there are no school violence records. However, we believe witnesses who attended school with him in New Zealand are necessary."

In response, A said, "Verification of substantive truth is needed," expressing hope for further proceedings, and added, "I believe a witness application is necessary."

Previously, the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 37, which handled the first instance, ruled in September 2025 that Cho Byung-kyu, HB Entertainment, and A were involved in a damages lawsuit worth approximately 4 billion won, resulting in a verdict favoring the defendant. The court decided to "dismiss all claims by Cho Byung-kyu's side and order the plaintiff to bear litigation costs."

At that time, Cho Byung-kyu's side claimed, "A posted false statements damaging his reputation, leading to termination of advertising model contracts and cancellations of drama, film, and variety show appearances, causing damages worth 4 billion won," and demanded compensation including 200 million won in mental distress damages.

In response, the court stated, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by Cho Byung-kyu's side, it is difficult to conclude that the posts were false." Regarding A's deletion of the exposure post after posting it, the court remarked, "It appears not due to admission of falsity but out of fear of criminal complaints and a massive damages lawsuit."

During the trial, approximately 20 statements from acquaintances submitted by Cho Byung-kyu's side were not accepted as evidence. The court stated, "All of them are domestic acquaintances of Cho Byung-kyu. It is difficult to verify the factual circumstances of an incident that occurred in New Zealand," and concluded that these statements did not prove false facts.

Among the acquaintances were some who had studied abroad with Cho Byung-kyu in New Zealand, but the court rejected them, stating, "These individuals are recognized as having significant personal ties to Cho Byung-kyu."

In response, Cho Byung-kyu's side appealed against the first-instance verdict.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the case in which Cho Byung-kyu filed a criminal complaint against A for defamation also received a decision not to prosecute.

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*This content was translated by AI.