Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok arrives for a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday. [Yonhap]
Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok arrives for a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday. [Yonhap]

A court has fined an internet user who posted false claims linking Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok to the Chinese Communist Party.

Lee disclosed the ruling on his Facebook page Friday.

According to the ruling Lee made public, the Changwon District Court on June 26 issued a summary order imposing a fine of 500,000 won ($347) on a user identified only as A, who had been summarily indicted on charges of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

A is accused of accessing the Naver cafe "Jayuhangildан" from a residence in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on Feb. 6 and posting false claims that Lee was connected to the Chinese Communist Party and that his father was an ethnic Chinese who worked under a Chinese businessman.

A summary order allows courts to impose financial penalties — fines, minor fines or confiscation — through written review without a formal trial, used in cases where the alleged offense is relatively minor.

"I hope those who have made money and stirred up public sentiment through this kind of malicious disinformation in the political arena are rooted out," Lee said.


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