Gyeonggi Province Education Superintendent An Min-seok [Newsis]
Gyeonggi Province Education Superintendent An Min-seok [Newsis]

Prosecutors have again sought a one-year prison sentence for Gyeonggi Province Education Superintendent An Min-seok, who was convicted of defaming Choi Seo-won — formerly known as Choi Soon-sil — a central figure in the Park Geun-hye administration's influence-peddling scandal.

At the appeal hearing held Friday at Suwon District Court's Criminal Division 2, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Seong-yul, prosecutors asked the court to impose the same one-year prison term sought at the first trial, according to Yonhap.

An was indicted on charges of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection after making statements on radio broadcasts and elsewhere in 2016, when he was a National Assembly lawmaker, claiming that Choi had met with the chairman of Lockheed Martin and steered weapons contracts to the company. He was convicted at the first trial and fined 3 million won ($2,220).

He was also indicted without detention in November 2023 on charges of making 10 unverified claims, including that Choi had hidden assets worth trillions of won in Germany, that hundreds of German shell companies had been used to launder the funds, and that money from domestic companies deposited into Swiss secret accounts was linked to Choi.

However, the trial court found him not guilty on nine of the 10 statements — all except the Lockheed Martin claim — ruling that defamatory intent could not be established or that the statements were otherwise not unlawful.

An's defense attorney argued for acquittal Friday, saying the defendant had simply passed on information received from multiple sources, including a retired military general, in the public interest.

"For defamatory intent to be established, there must be an intent to harm reputation that far exceeds any public interest purpose," the attorney said. "The defendant collected credible tips and reported them to the public."

The defense also argued that the Lockheed Martin chairman had in fact visited South Korea at the time and that An had spoken based on specific information he had received. "It is the prosecutor's burden to prove the statements were false, yet the trial court unlawfully ruled that all the statements were false with no basis other than the victim's own testimony," the attorney said.

In his final statement, An said he had traveled across Europe and the United States to uncover the full scope of the influence-peddling scandal and had received countless tips. "Not everything could have been true, but I only reported what I saw and heard firsthand — I did not lie to damage anyone's reputation," he said.

"It is excessive to demand, a decade later, that I account for every basis of my statements and punish me for any shortcomings," An said. "I have the bitter thought that if I had played it safe like other lawmakers and done just enough, I would not be going through this ordeal now."

Before the sentencing request, the court heard testimony from a witness identified only as A, called by the defense to verify whether the tip An cited as the basis for the Lockheed Martin allegation had in fact existed.

A was the person who introduced An to a retired military general who served as a source in 2016.

A testified that the source had compiled and relayed to An various pieces of information gathered from junior military colleagues over the years, and that the two had held many in-depth conversations.

The appeal verdict is scheduled for Dec. 16 at 2 p.m.


husn7@heraldcorp.com