The court has denied a request for a jury trial from Kim Se-hee, the head of the Garoseoro Research Institute, who is facing charges of defamation against actor Kim Soo-hyun.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 26 held its first pre-trial hearing on September 11 and decided to proceed with the case as a standard trial rather than a jury trial.
Kim is charged with violations of the Information and Communications Network Act and the Sexual Violence Punishment Act.
During the pre-trial hearing, the prosecution expressed its opposition to a jury trial, citing the presence of a sexual violence crime victim in the case and concerns over privacy violations.
Kim Soo-hyun's legal representative also appeared in court, arguing for the necessity of excluding a jury trial. The attorney stated, "Kim Se-hee is still sending messages to the public in the form of letters from prison, and given his public statements, there is a concern that a jury trial could be used for emotional manipulation."
The attorney added, "We hope the court will decide to exclude a jury trial so that the proceedings can be conducted solely based on evidence and legal principles."
After reviewing the arguments from both sides, the court decided to exclude a jury trial and proceed with a standard trial.
On this day, Kim's legal team denied all charges raised in the trial.
The defense argued that the allegations of spreading false information regarding the cause of Kim Sae-ron's death were not factual assertions but expressions of opinion.
Regarding the accusation of manipulating and disseminating Kim Sae-ron's voice using artificial intelligence, the defense stated, "We confirmed with the deceased's mother that the voice in the recording file is indeed hers, and it cannot be seen as defamatory."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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