What did the court rule eight years ago on SBS’sUnanswered Questionsepisode that President Lee is now attacking?

[Choice Times=Bo-Sik Choi, Publisher]

As SBS’s labor union issued a public statement calling President Lee Jae-myung’s demand for an apology over the SBS investigative programUnanswered Questions—which aired his alleged “gangster connections”—an act of “intimidation against the press,” President Lee fired back, saying they were “mistaking press freedom for media privilege.” Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae also joined in, declaring that “SBS is not even the press,” further escalating the controversy.

This issue is not simply about one broadcaster, SBS. It may well become a litmus test of whether political power in South Korea recognizes the very reason critical media exists.

The SBS Unanswered Questions episode Lee now appears intent on “cleanly erasing” after becoming the nation’s highest authority was controversial even at the time of its broadcast on July 21, 2018. Titled Power and Gangsters — One Year After the Pattaya Murder Case, the episode alleged that then-Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, during his days as a human rights lawyer, had represented a member of a Seongnam-based organized crime group (the Seongnam International Mafia), and that a company established by that gangster-affiliated figure had been selected as an “excellent small and medium-sized enterprise” by Seongnam City despite allegedly lacking the qualifications.

At the time, Governor Lee—who was preparing a presidential bid—did everything he could to stop the broadcast, but ultimately failed.

After the episode aired, Lee’s side filed civil and criminal actions against SBS, accusing it of false and distorted reporting, including lawsuits demanding correction and damages, as well as a criminal complaint for defamation.

Then in 2019, they sought a court injunction to block rebroadcasts and online postings of the program.

But the Seoul Southern District Court dismissed the request.

The court ruled that the program merely raised suspicions of “an improper collusive relationship between a politician and a criminal organization based on objective circumstances,” and found that “the materials submitted by Lee’s side alone are insufficient to conclude that the broadcast contained falsehoods or constituted a malicious and clearly unreasonable attack.”

Regarding the allegations that Lee was connected to gangsters, the court also noted that the program never definitively stated that “Lee knew the individual was a former gangster” when he took on the legal representation. Rather, it merely raised questions as to whether Lee may have known, based on the circumstances of the legal defense and the course of the trial. The court further observed that “a considerable portion of the broadcast was devoted to Lee’s rebuttal and explanations.”

It continued: “The program analyzed how criminal organizations may be motivated to approach political circles for vested interests, and how politicians may either be exploited by such groups or receive funding and organizational support from them in order to win elections. The broadcast sought to raise public awareness and concern over suspected improper collusion among gangsters, public officials, and politicians.”

The court therefore concluded that “the purpose and motive of the broadcast concerned matters of public interest.”

In rejecting the injunction, the judges added that if the broadcast were removed while the main lawsuit was still pending, “viewers interested in the alleged ties between politicians and criminal organizations would be fundamentally deprived of the opportunity to make their own assessments and develop a sense of public vigilance.” Accordingly, the court held that “there was insufficient need at the preliminary injunction stage to prohibit the posting of the program in advance.”

After that, the main civil lawsuit—seeking correction and damages against the production team ofUnanswered Questions—continued for a time. But in 2019, Lee’s side announced that it would “withdraw the lawsuit in the spirit of magnanimity.”

That decision came shortly after prosecutors declined to indict Governor Lee over the alleged gangster connection, removing the immediate legal risk, and after then-Seongnam Mayor Eun Soo-mi, who also appeared in the broadcast, lost her own damages suit. Lee’s side likely judged that dragging the case on further would do him no good. With that, the legal battle over the SBS broadcast effectively came to an end in late 2019.

Following that, the Korea Communications Standards Commission, which had previously postponed deliberation on the matter on the grounds that “the case was still under litigation,” finally reviewed the case in 2020 and concluded that “although there were some minor regulatory violations, the broadcast did not violate public interest or objectivity.”

Below is the full text of a social media post uploaded on the 24th by Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party regarding the matter.(Editor’s note)

President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party are twisting the arm of the press by abusing power.

This is an attempt to erase the dark chapter of President Lee’s past—his alleged gangster ties.

It is the worst kind of power abuse and a clear case of media oppression.

Let’s start with the facts. When SBS’sUnanswered Questionsaired the report in 2018, then-Governor Lee Jae-myung’s side filed for an injunction to stop the broadcast. The result was a complete dismissal.

The court’s decision at the time was, in effect, a certificate affirming why the report deserved to be aired in the public interest.

The court explicitly ruled that “the materials submitted are insufficient to conclude that the broadcast was false or malicious,” and held that raising such suspicions was consistent with the public’s right to know.

Even the Korea Communications Standards Commission under the Moon Jae-in administration concluded that the program did not violate public interest or objectivity.

At the time, Governor Lee aggressively filed both civil and criminal lawsuits, but in the end, he voluntarily withdrew them himself.

And now, after seizing the enormous power of the presidency, he is suddenly trying to overturn the outcome of the case while disregarding the court’s judgment.

A sitting president directly posting on social media to demand an apology from a specific TV program producer is effectively a signal to his hardline supporters: “Begin the public shaming.” It is a direct order.

Do the people really not know why the network management bowed and apologized?

Because if they had refused, it is obvious that every tool of state power—tax audits, police investigations, and whatever other pretexts could be found—would have been mobilized to crush the broadcaster.

If someone is holding a leash around your neck and yanking it, how can you not scream?

The fact that even the union rose up after the coerced apology is proof of just how unjust and barbaric this pressure was.

The irony is striking. President Lee rages that the “gangster connection” allegation is unfair, yet he himself is now using state power to threaten a broadcaster in the most gangster-like way possible—essentially saying, “Apologize, or else.”

This is no longer about alleged gangster ties. This is gangster behavior itself.

And the behavior of Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae and other Democratic lawmakers, who are eagerly joining in, is no different from that of third-rate gang enforcers.

People are appalled by the shamelessness of packaging mob-style intimidation—“If you don’t comply, we’ll crush you”—as “reform.”

If they truly want to root out manipulated broadcasts and fake news, then shouldn’t they start by shutting down the “Kim Ou-joon broadcasts” that have long trafficked in conspiracy theories and wild rumors?

Now that a criminal president is trying to erase his own crimes and overturn even the outcomes of related court cases, it seems he has lost all restraint.

But no matter how much power is used to silence the press and force an apology, the truth of the past cannot be erased.

President Lee must immediately stop abusing power to intimidate the media, force apologies, and suppress criticism.

And the press, too, must never kneel before the gangster-style threats of the Lee Jae-myung Democratic regime.

The moment the media surrenders and breaks its own pen, the eyes and ears of the people will be completely covered, and the truth will be buried alive in a grave of lies.

Below are the article links related to this matter:

<“Please ban reruns ofUnanswered Questions” — Lee Jae-myung’s injunction request dismissed>
Jan. 24, 2019, 17:09
https://www.pdjournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=62795

<KCSC: “Unanswered Questions’ allegations over Lee Jae-myung’s gangster ties are in the public interest”>
Feb. 12, 2020, 19:02
https://www.pdjournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=71008

#PressFreedom #MediaIntimidation #FreedomOfSpeech