Attorney Jung Cheol-seung (54), who was indicted for revealing the identity of a victim of the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's sexual crime case, was sentenced to one year in prison in the first trial. However, he was not detained in court.
The 29th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Director General Um Gi-pyo) ruled on the 27th regarding Attorney Jung's charges of disclosing the secret of the victim's identity and personal life under the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence, stating, "Considering the motive for the crime, its content, and its ripple effect, the nature of the crime cannot be viewed as light," and sentenced him to one year in prison.
Attorney Jung was indicted in June 2023 for posting on Facebook multiple times around August 2021 content that could identify the victim of the late mayor's sexual crime case. His posts included personal information that could identify the victim, such as the department the victim worked in and their duties, along with the essence of the claim that "there is no evidence to support the claim that the victim was sexually harassed."
During the first trial in April last year, Attorney Jung denied all charges. He claimed, "Since it was related to the performance of attorney duties, it was a justifiable act under criminal law," and stated, "It was not an act of slandering or stating false facts, but rather only informing about objectively verified facts."
On that day, the court stated, "The posts written by the defendant are recognized as having intentionally stated false facts. The suggestion made through social media that the victim may have falsely accused the deceased cannot be deemed to serve a public interest, and must be viewed as an attempt to slander the victim."
However, Attorney Jung was not detained in court. The court stated, "It has been determined that the defendant has grounds to appeal the recognized guilty portions, so he will not be detained in court."