'Lee Jae-myung Gangster Allegation' Jang Young-ha Sentenced to Prison in 2nd Trial... 1st Trial Acquittal Overturned

1st Trial: "No awareness of falsity" → 2nd Trial: "Suspicion of spreading false information to damage Lee's political activities"

Lawyer Jang Young-ha holds an additional press conference regarding Lee Jae-myung's profanity file (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Ha Sa-heon = Lawyer Jang Young-ha, author of 'Goodbye Lee Jae-myung,' is holding an additional press conference on January 19 at the National Assembly Communication Center in Yeouido, Seoul, regarding the profanity file of Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung that he released the previous day. 2022.1.19 [National Assembly Photojournalist Corps] toadboy@yna.co.kr

Jang Young-ha, the party chairman of the People Power Party's Seongnam-si Sujeong-gu district, who was prosecuted for making allegations of 'gangster involvement' against Lee Jae-myung, a strong presidential candidate for the Democratic Party at the time of the 20th presidential election in 2022, has been sentenced to a suspended prison term in his second trial.

The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judge Lee Jae-kwon) overturned the first trial's acquittal on January 22 and sentenced Jang, who was indicted on charges of spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act, to one year in prison, suspended for two years.

Jang, who was the legal representative of Park Chul-min, an active member of the Seongnam-based gangster group International Mafia, is accused of claiming at press conferences and other venues in October 2021, based on Park's testimony, that President Lee received approximately 2 billion won as a bribe from the International Mafia during his tenure as Seongnam Mayor in exchange for business favors.

Kim Yong-pan, a former People Power Party lawmaker, who received these claims, later presented a handwritten statement from Park and a photo of cash bundles at a parliamentary audit of Gyeonggi Province by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee. However, controversy arose when the photos were revealed to be promotional material for Park's rental car and private lending business.

Initially, the prosecution decided not to indict Jang, believing he reported the allegations based on his belief that Park's statements were true. Later, after the Democratic Party objected to the prosecution's decision and filed a request for judicial review, the court accepted it, and Jang was brought to trial in May 2023, receiving an acquittal in the first trial in January.

Unlike the first trial, which found that Jang had no awareness of spreading false information, the second trial ruled that it is reasonable to conclude that Jang "at least disseminated the information with the awareness that the disputed facts could be false."

The court stated, "As the awareness of falsity is inherently difficult to prove externally, it is unavoidable to judge it based on the specificity of the disseminated facts, the source of the content, and comprehensively consider the party's education, career, social status, the circumstances and timing of the dissemination."

The court continued, "In light of this, the defendant held a press conference and disseminated false information by relying solely on photos of cash bundles unrelated to the disputed facts and the statements of Park Chul-min and others, without securing objective data that clearly proves the facts."

It added, "Considering the series of events, including the defendant's contact with Park Chul-min, receiving the tip, and holding the press conference, as well as the content of the press conference, it is suspected that the defendant disseminated these false facts to damage the political activities of Lee Jae-myung, a leading candidate in the 20th presidential election, and to gain a political advantage." The court also pointed out, "Given that Lee Jae-myung narrowly lost the 20th presidential election, the impact on the election cannot be ignored." Yonhap News