hankyoreh

who was the presidential candidate of the opposition Grand National Party at the time

A court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Grand National Party against the Hankyoreh Shinmun over articles in the newspaper about allegations that then GNP presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak was involved in the BBK stock price manipulation scandal. Now the ruling party, the GNP had filed a lawsuit for 1 billion won against the Hankyoreh for “hurting society’s estimation of the party by reporting false facts about candidate Lee.”

In its dismissal, the court wrote that the articles “focused on suggesting there were questions about candidate Lee Myung-bak as an individual... You cannot view the articles as having hurt society’s estimation of the Grand National Party, and therefore the party cannot sue for damages.”

The court also wrote, “Only when defamation against an individual affects the social estimation of an organization because it relates to the official business of the organization of which the individual is a member” can the organization sue for damages.

On November 12, 2007, in articles spanning its fourth and fifth pages, the Hankyoreh reported that money from land in Seoul’s Dogok-dong owned by Lee’s elder brother and brother-in-law was invested in LK e-Bank by way of the companies Das and BBK and that LK e-Bank had been established by Lee. The articles went on to suggest there had been tens of billions of won in transactions between BBK and LK e-Bank, which in turn suggested Lee had been involved in the BBK stock price manipulation case together with BBK President Kim Kyung-joon.

In response, Lee and the GNP both sued the Hankyoreh Shinmun. Lee’s lawsuit for 50 million won is currently being tried.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]