A former lawmaker who made inappropriate comments about the bereaved families of those who died in the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry was ordered by the Seoul High Court to pay 1 million won ($682) to each plaintiff, according to court officials Thursday.
The appellate court upheld a 2021 ruling in favor of 126 bereaved family members who filed for compensation against Cha Myeong-jin, formerly of the now-defunct conservative United Future Party.
On May 15, 2019, Cha posted on his social media account that the bereaved families were exploiting public sympathy over their children's deaths.
"The posts included several inhumane statements that severely defamed (the plaintiffs). ... It is clear that the defendant wrote the posts with the intent to slander the plaintiffs," the Seoul High Court said, ordering Cha to shoulder the legal costs for the proceedings.
Cha has been criticized for numerous controversial comments of far-right views, including calling former liberal President Moon Jae-in a "commie," among other pejoratives, in 2019. His repeated defamation of those connected to the Sewol victims led to his expulsion from his party in 2020.
The victims and bereaved families of the Sewol ferry disaster, which left 304 dead or missing, have been targets of defamation by several far-right groups for politically charged reasons. This is thought to be linked to the fact that the tragedy occurred during the conservative Park Geun-hye administration and revealed a series of irregularities related to the ship's operation and the government's rescue response.
In a separate criminal trial related to Cha's defamation of the bereaved families of the Sewol ferry tragedy, the Seoul High Court upheld a six-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, in February.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
