Doctor acquitted 12 years after charges over Park Won-soon's son's military service allegations

A doctor and five other individuals have been definitively cleared of charges related to spreading false information about the military service of Park Ju-shin, the son of the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. The Supreme Court upheld the acquittal, marking the end of a 12-year legal battle for the defendants.

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The defendants' claims are likely to have been believed as true, and it appears that the situation at the time did not allow for the resolution of their doubts.

The case originated in 2014 when the defendants were indicted for allegedly posting content online alleging that Park Ju-shin had obtained a fraudulent military service exemption through a substitute physical examination. They had claimed Park used another person's MRI scan for his herniated disc diagnosis to secure a Grade 4 public service worker status. Prosecutors had previously cleared Park of wrongdoing in 2013.

An initial ruling in 2016 found the defendants guilty, imposing fines ranging from 7 million to 15 million won. However, an appellate court overturned this decision in February, citing the defendants' strong belief in their claims and the unresolved nature of their doubts. The appellate court noted that Park's subsequent public physical examination, intended to refute the allegations, was conducted without the accusers present, making it difficult to confirm the subject's identity from the MRI scans.

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The public physical examination conducted after the allegations were raised was done to fully deny the military service fraud, but since the MRI disclosure was conducted excluding those who raised the allegations, it was difficult to confirm whether the subject was Park Ju-shin.

The Supreme Court's decision to dismiss the prosecution's appeal affirmed the appellate court's reasoning, concluding that there were no legal errors in the lower court's judgment. While the doctor and five others were acquitted of charges including violating the Public Official Election Act, a publishing company executive involved in distributing documents related to the case received a 700,000 won fine for using methods not prescribed by election law.

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There are no errors in the lower court's judgment regarding the misinterpretation of the law.