A two-year prison sentence was finalized for Byun Hee-jae, who claimed that JTBC fabricated and reported the contents of a tablet PC belonging to Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), which was a key piece of evidence during the state affairs scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye.
The Supreme Court's Second Division (presiding Justice Kwon Young-jun) said on the 17th that it upheld the lower court ruling that sentenced Byun to two years in prison in the final appeal on charges including violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, among others, in a case filed on the 12th of last month.
Byun was brought to trial on charges including spreading false information through the book "The Curse of Sohn Suk-hee" and articles by his online outlet "Media Watch," to the effect that "JTBC colluded with former presidential secretary Kim Han-su to obtain the tablet PC, manipulated the files, and reported it as if it had been used by Choi Soon-sil."
In December 2018, the court of first instance found Byun guilty of all charges, sentenced him to two years in prison, and took him into custody in court.
During the appeal, Byun requested a non-custodial trial to ensure his right to defense, saying, "All the evidence is in the tablet PC, and being released does not allow me to destroy evidence." The appellate court granted bail on the condition that Byun would not participate in rallies related to the tablet PC fabrication theory.
On Dec. 2 last year, the appellate court sentenced Byun to two years in prison and took him into custody in court. It was seven years after the first-trial ruling. The proceedings were prolonged because Byun's side repeatedly filed motions to recuse the judges, saying they could not expect a fair trial.
The court also revoked Byun's bail and, ex officio, forfeited the 50 million won bail deposit to the state. The appellate panel said, "Given that Byun maintained an unrepentant attitude and fled, stern punishment is necessary."
After marrying in September 2014, Byun went to the United States for a honeymoon and applied for asylum there in October. The political situation in Korea, including the movement to oust the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, was the reason. However, after former President Yoon was impeached following the Dec. 3 martial law declaration and the administration changed, Byun returned last year.
Byun appealed the appellate ruling, arguing that the court abused its authority to direct proceedings and infringed his constitutional rights to a fair trial and to a defense. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, saying, "Even upon reviewing the record, there is no error in the lower court's proceedings that affected the judgment."