Pastor, journalist convicted for spreading false information during primary election

A pastor and a journalist have received final guilty verdicts from South Korea's Supreme Court for spreading false information during a primary election. The convictions stem from their actions during the lead-up to the 22nd general election, when they published a statement on social media urging a candidate to withdraw, alleging "collusion with a specific organization."

The prosecution charged the two individuals under Article 253 of the Public Official Election Act, which prohibits making false statements to help or hinder a candidate's election. The statement falsely claimed that a group with approximately 500,000 members had endorsed their call for the candidate's withdrawal, a claim the group itself did not support.

The defendants argued that the alleged collusion was an indirect fact about the candidate and that election law does not apply to actions aimed at causing a candidate to lose a primary election. However, the first trial court rejected these arguments, stating that the statements were directly related to the candidate and ultimately aimed at hindering their election. The court also found that actions intended to cause a loss in a primary election could be subject to election law if they could ultimately influence the general election.

Both the pastor and the journalist appealed their convictions, with the pastor receiving a six-month prison sentence suspended for one year and 120 hours of community service, and the journalist a fine of 2 million won. Their appeals were ultimately dismissed by the appellate court and the Supreme Court, upholding the initial ruling.