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A 40-year-old man who accused former professional basketball player and television personality Hyun Ju-yeop of school violence has been acquitted of defamation charges in an appellate court, upholding a previous ruling.
According to legal sources on April 30, the 1-2 Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court dismissed the prosecution’s appeal, maintaining the first-instance verdict of not guilty for the defendant, referred to as Mr. A.
Mr. A was indicted for defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection after posting an online community message in March 2021 claiming that Hyun Ju-yeop had assaulted a junior schoolmate. In his post, Mr. A identified himself as a former basketball club member who attended the same middle and high school as Hyun Ju-yeop, asserting that the alleged assault forced him to quit basketball during his school years.
The lower court previously ruled that the evidence submitted by the prosecution was insufficient to prove the post contained false information. The court noted that a key witness initially denied any assault during police questioning but failed to appear in court, making their statement unreliable. Additionally, the court rejected the prosecution’s claim that Mr. A posted the allegations for financial gain, stating that text messages suggested his motive was revenge for the alleged school violence rather than monetary demands.
However, the lower court refrained from determining whether Hyun Ju-yeop actually used physical violence against a junior, acknowledging that testimonies presented in court both supported and contradicted the defendant’s claims.
The prosecution argued on appeal that Mr. A had clearly disseminated false information about Hyun Ju-yeop with intent to demand money, thereby harming his reputation, and that the first-instance ruling was based on factual errors and misinterpretation of the law.
The appellate court disagreed, stating that the evidence presented by the prosecution failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. A posted false facts with the intention of defaming Hyun Ju-yeop. The court concluded that there were no legal or factual errors in the original verdict warranting reversal.
Hyun Ju-yeop, a former professional basketball player turned broadcaster. [Yonhap News]
