Ex-DP lawmaker fined for defaming former reporter

An appellate court struck down a lower court’s ruling and imposed a fine on Choi Kang-wook, a former opposition lawmaker, for slandering a former reporter of a cable news channel.

Choi was charged with spreading false information on his social networking account in 2020, claiming Lee Dong-jae, a reporter formerly affiliated with Channel A, urged a businessman to give false testimony that he bribed Rhyu Si-min, a former health minister and an influential liberal commentator.

The businessman is currently serving a prison term for various financial crimes.

An appellate bench of the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Choi to a fine of 10 million won (US$7,452), overturning the previous not-guilty verdict.

In the previous ruling, the court had acquitted Choi, stating his online remarks were not slanderous and pertained to an issue of public interest.

Choi, who earned his first parliamentary term on a proportional representation ticket with the main opposition Democratic Party in 2020, lost his seat last year after the Supreme Court finalized a suspended jail term for him on charges of forging an internship certificate in favor of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s son.