More Libel Suits to Silence Critics: Cartoonist Yoon Seo-in, Journalist Kim Se-ui

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Tara O 
2018-9-15

On September 11, 2018, the prosecutor proposed  a 1-year sentence each for Mr. Yoon Seo-in, a cartoonist, and Mr. Kim Se-ui, a journalist, for libel at the final hearing at the Seoul Central District Court presided by judge Choi Mi-bok  (최미복).

This libel lawsuit follows another libel lawsuit against a journalist, Mr. Byun Hee-jae, for defaming JTBC, a cable TV broadcaster.  JTBC aired the tablet PC story, which played a crucial role in the former president Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.  Byun has called out JTBC’s tablet PC story as fabricated. Byun’s characterization was corroborated by the special prosecutors’ own forensic report.  However, Byun was sued for libel, and the Seoul Central District Court jailed Byun prior to trial. It is an unusual move to jail a journalist in South Korea, especially prior to a trial, although numerous political opponents have been jailed prior to trial since early 2017.  Byun’s trial is currently underway.

Another worrisome event is that Moon’s Deoburreo Minju Party has submitted a “broadcast law reform” bill to regulate individuals who post videos on Youtube and other video sites as “mass media.”  If this bill becomes law, then the individuals who post videos become “subject to government review” and if it does not like them, the government can “simply get rid of them,” criticized National Assemblyman Kim Jin-tae, Liberty Korea Party.  This is after the Moon administration, along with Media Workers’ Union, took control over major broadcasters MBC and KBS.  

The lawsuit against Yoon and Kim was for defaming the family of Mr. Baek Nam-gi (백남기) based on “false information.” Yoon and Kim were indicted in October of 2016 for uploading a cartoon on an internet site and for writing posts on one’s social network account, alleging that the daughter enjoyed a vacation in an overseas resort.


 Yoon Seo-in’s cartoon:  Freedom Oneshot

Upper picture: 
1st Bubble: “Father is lying in an Intensive Care Unit”  
2nd Bubble:  “The patient is in a critical condition”  
3rd Bubble:  “Must quickly take measure”  
4th Bubble:  “Can’t because there’s no family (members to) consent”

Lower picture: 
1st Bubble:  “I’m sunbathing at a resort” 
2nd Bubble:  “(You must) save my father” 
3rd Bubble:  “X-like (expletive) country (South Korea)” 
4th Bubble:  “It’s time to go on a (island) hopping tour”

Bottom of the cartoon:  “If a bit of common sense was applied”

When Yoon drew the cartoon, the daughter posted on Facebook, “I have no qualification to ruin the vacation that my husband, husband’s family, and my children planned for several months.  If I meant to hide, I would not have made public my vacation photos or location from the beginning.” (2:27)

The lawsuit initially accused Yoon and Kim of libel through “false” information.  During the trial, the evidence actually supported their expressions as true. For instance, the daughter did indeed go to Bali, Indonesia and had a vacation, as shown by various photos of her on the beach and visiting restaurants as well as her own testimony at the court admitting that she went on vacation.  Some newspapers ignored this and falsely stated that “the result of the prosecution investigation shows Baek ‘s daughter went to Bali for her family’ s event, not for recreational purposes.”  The prosecutor, after the vacations photos surfaced, hurriedly changed the charges from “false facts” to “pointing out facts” in the middle of the trial.

Who is Yoon Seo-in (윤서인)?

He is a satire cartoonist who has been drawing cartoons depicting various current events, including high unemployment, the Winter Olympics, and South-North relations, often pointing out contradictions.  For more of his cartoons, see here.   He is often criticized by the left.  He said he has met the person who is suing him at the court, and feels badly for her after hearing about her situation. However, he does not feel that he should go to jail for “pointing out the facts” and drawing about current events. (1:49)

Who is Kim Se-ui (김세의)?

Kim Se-ui was a journalist with MBC until recently.  He resigned from MBC due to harassment and pressure from Choi Seung-ho, MBC’s current president.  Choi, the instigator of the false “Mad Cow” story, which galvanized the Korean public to massive anti-U.S. beef/Mad Cow protests in 2008, was placed as the head of MBC after a hostile takeover by the Moon administration and the Media Workers’ Union, which falls under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).  Kim was one of 80 or so journalists at MBC who Choi punished by demoting, marginalizing, and harassing, because they did not participate in strikes.  Kim has been outspoken about this situation.

Kim protested that he posted his sentiment on his social network, and that the matter was already widely reported in the media.

Yoon said he had no intention to criticize the family and that he only drew about current social issues.  As a basic right in the free Republic of Korea, he felt that a cartoonist should be able to express satire in such a way.  He ended his video by stating “I’m sure I won’t go to prison for this.  I still believe that common sense exists in South Korea.” (5:50)

I hope he is right.

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1 Response

  1. 자유 세력에 대해서는 공포 정치, 좌익 세력에 대해서는 지지도 향상을 만들어 내기 위한 이런 사법부의 조치는 한국의 자유민주주의를 심각하게 해치고 있습니다. 참담합니다.