[Sportschosun Reporter Park A-ram] The court rejected Kim Se-ui’s request for a citizen-participation trial in the case of the Garo Sero Research Institute chief, who was indicted while in custody on charges including defaming actor Kim Soo-hyun.
The 26th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Hyun-Kyung Lee, decided on the 11th not to conduct Kim’s case as a citizen-participation trial. Kim was indicted on charges including violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.
Before his first trial last month, Kim’s legal team submitted a statement to the court expressing his wish to have a citizen-participation trial.
At the first preparatory hearing held that afternoon, prosecutors opposed a citizen-participation trial, citing the fact that the case involves an alleged sexual-violence victim and concerns that private information could be disclosed during the proceedings.
A lawyer for Kim Soo-hyun also appeared in court and stated that the defense opposed proceeding with a citizen-participation trial. The lawyer argued, "Even while Kim Se-ui has been in custody, he has continued sending messages to the public in the form of letters from prison," adding, "In light of his public statements, there is concern that a citizen-participation trial could be used as an emotional public-opinion campaign."
The lawyer then asked the court, "We ask that you decide to exclude this case from a citizen-participation trial so that the proceedings can be conducted solely on the basis of evidence and legal principles."
After reviewing the positions of both sides, the court decided not to conduct a citizen-participation trial. The case will therefore proceed as an ordinary criminal trial, with the court hearing the matter without jurors.
Kim’s side generally denied the charges brought by prosecutors at the hearing.
Regarding the charge of spreading false information about the cause of Kim Sae-ron’s death, Kim’s lawyer argued, "This was an expression of opinion, not a statement of fact."
Regarding the charge of creating and distributing Kim Sae-ron’s voice using artificial intelligence (AI), the lawyer countered, "The deceased’s mother confirmed that the voice in the recording was indeed that of the deceased," adding, "It cannot be considered to have been done with an intent to defame."
Kim is accused of spreading allegedly false claims through YouTube and other platforms that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor and that pressure from Kim Soo-hyun’s side to repay debts was the direct cause of Kim Sae-ron’s death.
He is also accused of defaming Kim Soo-hyun by distributing an AI-manipulated recording of Kim Sae-ron’s voice.
He additionally faces charges of threatening Kim Soo-hyun by airing private photographs without authorization and demanding a public apology while suggesting that materials related to his private life would be disclosed.
Kim was detained in June on the grounds that he might destroy evidence or flee.
The upcoming trial is expected to feature continued legal arguments over whether the information Kim distributed was false, whether he had an intent to defame, and how the AI-generated voice was created and distributed.
tokkig@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
