Former Changwon City Council Member Fined for Slurring President Lee Jae-myung

A fine of 3 million won has been imposed on Kim Mi-na, a former Changwon city council member in South Gyeongsang Province, for defaming President Lee Jae-myung and Kim Hyun-ji, the first deputy secretary general at the presidential office, with false content on social media. Kim was indicted without detention on charges of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act after posting messages on her social media in October last year targeting the president and Kim, including claims that the two had an 'economic community' and 'shared a child,' damaging their reputations.

The indictment came after the South Gyeongsang provincial chapter of the Democratic Party of Korea filed a complaint against Kim with the police. The chapter accused her of having 'forgotten her duties as a local council member, repeatedly causing social controversy, tarnishing the reputation of citizens, and undermining democratic values.'

Prosecutors sought a one-year prison term for Kim during the trial. The court noted that 'despite having previously received leniency from the courts for a similar crime, she did not exercise restraint and committed the offense.' However, in explaining the sentence, it said it 'took into account that the posting was made only once, that she suffered disadvantages such as being dropped from her party's nomination due to this and other incidents, and that she admitted to and showed remorse for her actions.'

Kim was also convicted in December 2022 on charges of insulting the bereaved families of the Itaewon crowd crush disaster and members of the Cargo Solidarity trade union in posts on her social media, receiving a suspended sentence of three months in prison, which was finalized. She applied for the ruling People Power Party's nomination for Changwon city council ahead of the local elections in April last year but was excluded from the primary race.