Lawyer Kang Yong-suk, Gaseyeon Chief Kim Se-ui Indicted for Spreading Falsehoods About Cho Kuk's Son

Lawyer Kang Yong-suk and Kim Se-ui, head of the Gaseyeon Institute, have been sent to trial on charges of spreading false information about Cho Kuk, the leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, and his son. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office indicted them without detention on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (defamation).

This indictment comes 2 years and 3 months after the police forwarded the case and 5 years and 7 months after Cho Kuk filed a complaint against them.

In August 2019, Kang and others posted a video on the Gaseyeon Institute's YouTube channel alleging that Cho Won, the son of Cho Kuk, had sexually harassed a female student, and that his mother, former Dongyang University Professor Chung Kyung-sim, had misrepresented the situation as bullying to cover it up.

Cho Kuk's side filed a complaint with the police, accusing them of spreading false information by portraying their son, who was a victim of school violence, as a perpetrator of sexual harassment. Prosecutors confirmed through records of the School Violence Committee meeting regarding Cho Won that he was a victim, not a perpetrator, of school violence.

Cho Kuk's side had previously filed a lawsuit seeking 300 million won in damages against Gaseyeon and its operators in August 2020. The Supreme Court last January finalized a ruling partially in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering Gaseyeon to pay 10 million won to Cho Kuk, 25 million won to his daughter Jo Min, and 10 million won to his son Cho Won.