SEOUL, A conservative YouTuber was ordered to pay 10 million won (US$7,217) in compensation to former Justice Minister Cho Kuk for falsely claiming Cho had a meal with a judge overseeing the corruption trial against former President Park Geun-hye in 2018, judicial officials said Wednesday.
Woo Jong-chang, the head of a conservative YouTube channel, Lies and Truth, was charged with accusing Cho, then senior presidential secretary for civil affairs under the Moon Jae-in government, of having a meal with a senior judge in charge of the first trial of former President Park in March 2018.
Cho filed a suit seeking 100 million won in 2020.
The Seoul Northern District Court has made a compulsory mediation decision ordering Woo to pay 10 million won to Cho. The decision was finalized Wednesday, as both parties did not appeal.
In a separate criminal trial, a district court sentenced Woo to eight months in prison on charges of defamation, but an appellate court and the Supreme Court finalized a lighter sentence of
six months in prison, suspended for one year for Woo.
“The punishment and compensation are lenient in light of the damage done to Cho, but it is a relief that the substantive truth was revealed and certain liabilities were imposed on the offender,” the legal representatives for Cho said in a statement.
Source: Yonhap News Agency