Constitutional Court to Hear Journalists' Petition Over Defamation Liability for Reporting Facts

Court Orders Two KBS Reporters to Pay Damages for Reporting on Criminal Record of Han & Brothers Chairman Han Juhui

A constitutional petition filed by journalists seeking to overturn a court ruling that recognized liability for defamation by stating facts in a news report has passed the preliminary review.

Constitutional Court of Korea, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On June 23, the Constitutional Court held a deliberation with a panel of three constitutional judges and referred the case, filed by two KBS reporters requesting the cancellation of the trial, to the full bench. Since the constitutional petition system was implemented in March, this is the 9th case out of 1,075 petitions to be referred to the full bench.

The KBS reporters who filed the constitutional petition had covered Han Juhui, chairman and major shareholder of Han & Brothers, in 2023, while he was under investigation for allegedly exploiting his close connections with high-ranking officials to embezzle a large sum of money. In their report, the journalists addressed Han’s previous conviction for fraud.

In response, Chairman Han filed a civil lawsuit against the reporters, seeking 1.2 billion won in damages, claiming they violated the privacy and honor of his personal life.

The Seoul High Court, which handled the appeal, found the reporters liable for defamation by stating facts regarding the disclosure of Han’s criminal record in the documentary, one of the four reports at issue, and ordered each reporter to pay 10 million won in compensation.

Subsequently, in April 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals from both sides without a hearing, finalizing the ruling. In response, the reporters filed a constitutional petition on June 2, arguing that disclosure of past criminal records constitutes a matter of public interest as it relates to public trust in the civil service sector.

Going forward, the Constitutional Court plans to focus on key issues such as: the meaning and scope of 'public interest' as grounds for exemption from civil liability in defamation by stating facts; and the comparative criteria for balancing press freedom and personal rights when disclosing criminal records anonymously in documentaries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.