The court ruled in the first trial that Kim Ui-gyeom, the Administrator of the Saemangeum Development Agency (former member of the Democratic Party of Korea), and others who raised the allegations of the 'Cheongdam-dong drinking party' must compensate Han Dong-hoon, the former leader of the People Power Party, 80 million won.
On the 13th, the 14th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Jeong Ha-jeong) delivered a partial victory ruling for the plaintiff in the damages claim lawsuit filed by former representative Han against seven people, including Administrator Kim and officials from 'Citizen Media The Investigation.'
The court ordered Administrator Kim and five officials from The Investigation to jointly compensate 70 million won. The ex-boyfriend of cellist A, the initial informant of the Cheongdam-dong drinking party allegations, was ordered to pay 10 million won. However, one journalist affiliated with The Investigation was not held responsible due to insufficient evidence of involvement in the incident.
The court viewed that the 'Cheongdam-dong drinking party' allegations themselves were false. The court stated, "Considering the testimony of cellist A in court, police investigations, and other factors that questioned the existence of the drinking party, it is reasonable to conclude that the assertion of the existence of the Cheongdam-dong drinking party is false."
The court noted, "Administrator Kim and the affiliated journalists can be seen as involved in the reporting, and there was not sufficient reason to believe that the fact of the existence of the Cheongdam-dong drinking party was true, which indicates unlawful conduct."
On October 24, 2022, Administrator Kim claimed during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Ministry of Justice that former President Yoon Suk-yeol and then Minister Han Dong-hoon had a drinking party in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with around 30 lawyers from Kim & Chang and Lee Se-chang, the acting chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, until past midnight on July 19, 2022.
Former Representative Kim revealed recordings of conversations between the female cellist believed to have been at the drinking party and her ex-boyfriend Lee. Lee reported the recordings to The Investigation. Subsequently, The Investigation aired the allegations of the Cheongdam-dong drinking party as if they were true a total of 19 times from October 2022 to January of the following year.
Currently, Administrator Kim is also facing a defamation trial regarding this case. He denied all allegations at the first hearing held last December.