The in-laws accused of installing a home camera without permission in the newlyweds' home of former national baseball team manager Ryu Joong-il's son and his wife were acquitted at the first trial.
The 12th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court (Chief Judge Park Jong-ryeol) on the 17th acquitted the former father-in-law and brother-in-law of Ryu's son, who were indicted without detention on charges of violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act. They were accused of installing a home camera with video recording and audio recording functions inside the house on May 14, 2024, when Ryu's son and his wife were separated and the house was left vacant, and recording other people's conversations.
The court said, "The residence where the home cam was installed was jointly owned by the child and the spouse, but due to their separation, it was in effect a house where no one lived," adding, "The purpose of visiting this house was to pack belongings during the divorce process, and it is hard to expect visits for other purposes."
At the same time, the court said, "It is acknowledged that the conversation of the defendant's child's spouse and an accompanying person was recorded by the home camera," but viewed that, considering the nature of the residence at the time, it is difficult to recognize that the home camera was installed with the intent to record other people's conversations or secrets. The court added, "Given the disputes during the divorce process, it is also reasonable that there was a need to install it for security purposes."
The conflict between the two sides began with allegations that Ryu, a former manager who had been a teacher, had a daughter-in-law who had an inappropriate relationship with a student. In December last year, Ryu also posted on the national petition board, saying his former daughter-in-law had inappropriate meetings with a high school student she taught, but prosecutors decided not to charge her.
By contrast, Ryu's in-laws argued that their daughter never engaged in inappropriate behavior with the high school student and that Ryu's son's side instead used the allegation as a pretext to extort a large sum of money.