The court cited some of the application for an injunction once morest broadcasting filed by Kim once morest MBC, which predicted the report of the phone recording file of Kim Gun-hee, the spouse of presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, who is the People’s Strength.
On the followingnoon of the 14th, the Civil Agreement Division 21 of the Seoul Western District Court (Senior Judge Park Byung-tae) made a decision to cite a part of Kim’s application for an injunction once morest broadcasting once morest MBC. The court ruled that “all other applications will be rejected” following stating that only Kim’s three remarks in the call recording “should not be produced, edited, broadcast, advertised, or posted on the Internet as a broadcast program.”
Among Kim’s remarks, the three things that were decided to ban broadcasting are △Remarks regarding a case under investigation among suspicions that Kim is receiving, such as manipulation of Deutsche Motors stock price.
Regarding the passage decided to be cited, the court said, “If the creditor (Kim) undergoes investigation or investigation into the above case in the future, there is a high risk of infringing on the right to refuse statements, which can be guaranteed in criminal proceedings.” He continued, “The content of Kim’s remarks in a rather strong tone in the process of expressing his dissatisfaction with the media or people who made negative articles or remarks regarding him is included. It is difficult to see that it corresponds to a necessary political opinion,” he said.
The court said, “In addition, this part seems to include only content that can come out of conversations with acquaintances in everyday life that has nothing to do with Kim’s political views, etc.” The business card is reasonable.”
The court rejected Kim’s application for other parts. It is difficult to believe that the call file was recorded and obtained illegally, and it seems that MBC took measures to eliminate concerns regarding manipulation and editing, and heard that the contents of the broadcast appear to be for the public interest.
First of all, the court said that the recorded file is a conversation between Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee, who are the parties to the conversation, and does not fall under the ‘interpersonal conversation’ prohibited by the Communication Secret Protection Act, and it can be considered that MBC acquired this file and mobilized illegal methods. Said there was no data.
The court said that the public interest purpose of the broadcast was recognized. The court said, “The contents of the broadcast appear to include △ the process of obtaining files and reporting △ Kim’s role as an assistant in Candidate Yoon’s political activities △ Kim’s views on political issues and social issues, etc.” As the spouse of Yoon Seok-yeol, who was registered as a presidential candidate, he is a public figure receiving public attention through the media, and Kim’s views on social issues or political views are of public interest.”
The court said, “For the purpose of broadcasting this case, MBC is stating that it is to prevent in advance the possibility that the spouse of a future president can exercise undue political influence. It appears to be for the public interest of providing voters with data for their judgment,” he said.
The court said, “Even if Kim’s privacy and personal rights may be partially infringed by these contents, the Public Official Election Act 251 permits slanderous acts to be justifiable under certain conditions in the interest of the public to promote the proper exercise of the voters’ right to vote in the public office election. Considering the legislative purpose of the proviso, it is necessary to broadly recognize the public interest.”
The court also said, “The MBC tried to contact Mr. Kim and the officials of the Kim family to hear objections or explanations, but it seems that Mr. Kim did not respond.” It is difficult to accept the side’s argument.”
The court also did not accept Kim’s request for indirect coercion, such as ordering MBC to pay damages if it violates the court’s decision.
Previously, Mr. Kim’s side applied for an injunction to ban broadcasting, asking for a ban on broadcasting of Mr. Kim’s call recordings on MBC’s current affairs program ‘Straight’, which is scheduled to be broadcast on the 16th. In an interrogation held this morning, Kim’s side claimed that MBC was trying to broadcast an illegally recorded phone call file without Kim’s consent. He also said that he was concerned regarding malicious editing and broadcasting of false information, and that the right to object was not guaranteed.
