Prosecutors Seek 18 Months in Prison for Former KCSC Chair Ryu Heerim Over 'Perjury at Parliamentary Audit'

Prosecution Service: "Google Never Promised to Delete Content ...; Perjury Was Intentional"

The Prosecution Service has requested a sentence of one year and six months in prison for Ryu Heerim, former chair of the Korea Communications Standards Commission, who was indicted on charges of giving false testimony during a parliamentary audit.

Former Korea Communications Standards Commission Chairman Ryu Hee-rim sits in the witness stand after refusing to take the oath during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Yonhap News Agency

At the final hearing on October 27 in Ryu’s perjury case under the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly, held before the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court, prosecutor Seo Bomin asked the court to sentence him to one year and six months in prison.

The prosecutor said, "It is difficult to believe the defendant’s claim that he cannot remember matters that were unusual and repeatedly raised as problematic, and the intent to commit perjury is established." The prosecutor added, "The defendant exaggerated his personal achievements to avoid allegations of a conflict of interest, with an eye toward securing another term."

Ryu was indicted without detention on charges of giving false testimony, including testifying at a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on October 21, 2024, that he had received a promise from Markham Erickson, a Google vice president, to swiftly remove illegal and harmful YouTube content.

Citing, among other evidence, a recording transcript of a meeting with the Google vice president, the prosecutor said, "The Google vice president never used the word 'delete' in response to the defendant’s request." The prosecutor added, "The defendant received and reviewed the audio file after the meeting, and he did not use the word 'promise' in the expected questions and answers for the parliamentary audit."

Ryu was also charged with falsely testifying that he had not been informed by a Korea Communications Standards Commission employee that his younger brother had filed a complaint about a broadcast that raised allegations that former President Yoon Suk Yeol had intervened to halt an investigation into Busan Savings Bank. The prosecutor said, "Taken together, the employee’s statement at the time, records of entry to the Commission’s offices, emails, and KakaoTalk messages amply establish that the defendant was informed."

Ryu denied all the charges and maintained his innocence. In his final statement, he said, "At the time, I clearly understood Google’s response as a promise to swiftly remove or block the content," adding, "I simply told the National Assembly what I believed to be true." Regarding the complaint filed by his younger brother, he stressed, "I do not remember receiving such a report, either then or now."

Ryu’s lawyer also argued that there were problems with the National Assembly’s complaint process. The lawyer said, "When the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee initially voted to file a complaint on perjury charges, it had not specified what the complaint would concern." The lawyer pointed out, "Both the allegations and the subject of the complaint changed, but the complaint was filed without going through another vote." The lawyer also argued that the testimony of Jang Gyeongsik, a key witness on whether Ryu was informed about the complaint filed by his younger brother, was unreliable because he had changed his account several times.

The sentencing hearing for Ryu is scheduled for December 1.

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