A lawyer who accused President Lee Jae Myung of having affiliations with gang members has been found guilty on appeal.
The Seoul High Court overturned a lower court’s acquittal and sentenced attorney Jang Yeong-ha to one year in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act. During the presidential election in 2022, Jang claimed that Lee was taking bribes from gangs based on testimony alone.
“Jang held a press conference based solely on photos unrelated to the issue and statements from Park Cheol-min — a known member of the International Mafia gang — without securing concrete or objective evidence,” the court said.
The court also noted that after former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Yong-pan publicized the same allegations, it quickly became apparent under public scrutiny that the cash bundle photos were fabricated. Despite this, Jang pushed ahead with his press conference just two days later without proper verification.
“Considering the timing of the disclosure and other factors, the court finds that the defendant was at least aware the claims could be false when he made them public,” the ruling stated. “The lower court ruling of not guilty was based on a misunderstanding of facts and a misapplication of the law.”
“Even though the defendant is a legal professional, he abandoned his duty and spread falsehoods using provocative images,” said the court. “Given that Lee narrowly lost the election, the impact on the presidential race cannot be dismissed.”
Jang, who had served as legal counsel for Park, a member of the International Mafia gang, held a press conference in October 2021 — just months before the 2022 presidential election — where he claimed then-candidate Lee received 2 billion won ($1.4 million) in bribes while serving as Seongnam mayor in exchange for business favors.
Jang’s allegations were later picked up by then-lawmaker Kim, who presented photos of stacks of cash at a parliamentary audit in Gyeonggi.
But it was soon revealed that the photos had originally been posted by Park on social media to promote a business and were unrelated to the allegations. The Democratic Party later filed a criminal complaint against Jang for spreading false information in violation of election law.
In January, a lower court acquitted Jang, ruling there wasn’t enough evidence to prove he knowingly spread false information.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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