In the 21st presidential election phase, Lee Su-jeong, the People Power Party Suwon-jeong district party committee chair, who was indicted on charges of posting on social media a false post claiming that President Lee Jae-myung, then the Democratic Party of Korea candidate, had his two sons exempted from military service, was sentenced in the first trial to a fine of 3 million won.
The 13th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Jang Seok-jun) on Feb. 5 sentenced the committee chair to a fine of 3 million won on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act (announcement of false facts and slander of a candidate) and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation).
The court said, "Even if the post was deleted in a short time, considering the reach of the internet, there is a significant concern that it could cloud voters' rational judgment, so the culpability cannot be seen as light," and noted, "The defendant neither reached a settlement with the victim nor was forgiven."
The court found intent was established, noting that it was sufficiently possible under social norms to verify whether the content specified in the post was true, yet it was posted without any particular verification procedures. However, it said it reflected in sentencing that the post was deleted shortly after posting and an apology and explanation were posted, and that the false facts posted by the committee chair were of a nature that could be verified for truth through election campaign materials.
Immediately after the sentence, the committee chair said, "I did not recognize at the time of writing the post that it was false," adding that an appeal would be sought.
The committee chair posted the related content on Facebook on May 28 last year ahead of the presidential election and was indicted following a complaint by the Democratic Party of Korea. The post was soon deleted, and afterward an explanation was given that "I briefly shared information circulating online and, after confirming it was incorrect, deleted it."
Meanwhile, in cases under the Public Official Election Act, if a sentence of a fine of 1 million won or more becomes final, the person cannot run for election for the next five years. Earlier, at the sentencing hearing last month, prosecutors sought a fine of 5 million won for the committee chair.