A former employee of the agency who was indicted on defamation charges after alleging that singer Jang Woo-hyuk (47), formerly of the idol group H.O.T., verbally abused and assaulted the employee, was acquitted at the first trial. Jang's side argued, "It was the employee who assaulted me," but the court did not accept that claim.
On Apr. 29, Judge Kim Min-jung of the Seoul Western District Court, Criminal Division 9 Single-Judge, acquitted a person surnamed A, who had been brought to trial on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation).
Earlier, in June 2022, A was indicted on defamation charges after posting on an online community that "Jang assaulted me twice."
A claimed that in early 2014, while on an overseas business trip, A took a taxi with Jang and was punched on the back of the head by Jang with a hand wearing a leather glove. A also claimed that in 2020 at a broadcast station, just before a performance, Jang slapped A's hand as A was fastening Jang's microphone and said, "Damn it."
Jang responded that "this is not true" and filed a defamation complaint against A. Prosecutors saw the 2014 incident among A's claims as possibly true, but deemed the 2020 incident false and indicted A.
The court said A's testimony was "specific and naturally consistent with the circumstances," adding that "it is difficult to conclude that it has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that A stated false facts." In other words, the court found that the 2020 incident, which prosecutors deemed false, was not a falsehood.
Jang's side argued that in the 2020 incident, it was Jang, not A, who was assaulted. During the police investigation, Jang reportedly said, "Before the performance, I asked A to help tidy the microphone cable on my waist, and A came over and hit my hand hard enough to make a 'bang' sound," adding, "Because of the assault that day, I have been suffering from stage fright and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."
But the court did not accept Jang's claim. The court said, "Considering the relationship between the company representative and the employee, it is hard to see A as having assaulted Jang for no reason," adding, "Rather, it is natural that Jang, who was in a superior position, became emotional and hit A." The court also found Jang's statement less credible given that there were no records of Jang complaining of pain or injury from the alleged assault and that no disciplinary or warning measures were taken against A.
Prosecutors appealed the first-instance ruling.