Photo: Justice Minister Han Dong-hun. Credit: Yonhap.
Former legislator and prominent liberal pundit Yu Si-min 유시민 was convicted for criminal defamation of Justice Minister Han Dong-hun 한동훈 법무부장관.
On June 9, the Seoul Western District Court 서울서부지방법원 sentenced Yu to KRW 5m (USD 4k) in fines, finding that Yu’s statement that Han, during his time at the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office 대검찰청, surveilled the bank accounts of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation 노무현재단 of which Yu was serving as the board chairman, was defamatory.
Han’s team did review the foundation’s financial transactions, but the PPO argued that such a review was not “surveillance.” Han is additionally pursuing a civil case for defamation against Yu.