"I was a registered business owner who ran a general restaurant myself"
A woman identified only by her surname Yang, described as a "broker" in connection with allegations that former Justice Ministry nominee Kim Seung-won sought to influence approval of a COVID-19 drug clinical trial, has filed a criminal complaint against independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon on charges including defamation. Yang said she was not a bar employee or madam but a registered business owner who ran her own establishment.
Yang's attorney said Thursday that the complaint had been filed that day with the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul against Han on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation), violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, and inducing the disclosure of official secrets.
Yang's side said Han had posted false and defamatory descriptions of her multiple times on his Facebook account between Sept. 3 and Sept. 16, including phrases such as "room salon younger-sister broker," "Gangnam nightclub madam," "Cheongdam-dong rotation room salon yagibba" and "bar madam-turned broker Yang."
The complaint added that the establishment in question, "Yagi," was a business Yang operated from December 2005 to March 2010, registered as a general restaurant under the food and Western-cuisine categories. "Yang was not an employee or madam of the establishment but a registered business owner who ran it herself," the attorney said.
Yang's side also alleged that Han had repeatedly posted recordings and text messages from private phone calls between Kim and Yang, and had disclosed what appeared to be a document outlining indictment plans from the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office. It called for an investigation into how those materials were obtained and leaked.
"The repeated posting of defamatory content and its spread through the media has worsened her anxiety, insomnia and loss of appetite to the point where she has sought a medical diagnosis," Yang's attorney said, adding that they hoped the factual basis of Han's posts and the circumstances surrounding the acquisition and leakage of the non-public materials would be clearly established.
kty@heraldcorp.com
