Veteran soccer player Ki Sung-yueng has won a civil lawsuit against those who sought compensation for what they claimed was defamation, regarding Ki's lawyer's comment describing their accusation of his alleged sexual abuse.
The appellate division of the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday upheld an earlier court ruling in favor of Ki, deciding that Ki's lawyer Song Sang-yeop describing the two plaintiffs as "suspects in fraud against the entire nation" does not constitute defamation.
The court said it did not find legal errors in the previous ruling in August of 2024, which said that the disputed comment was "provocative but represents the position of (the lawyer's) client."
The comment by Song took place while Song denied the allegations against his client, which was first raised by the plaintiffs in February of 2021. The plaintiffs sought a compensation of 200 million won ($137,000).
Ki has maintained that the alleged sexual violence and physical abuse, which the plaintiffs claimed happened when they were teammates on their elementary school team, had never happened. He responded by filing for a criminal charges and a civil lawsuit against the two, seeking compensation of 500 million won for defamation.
The investigation of criminal charges involving the matter had been closed by Seoul Seocho Police Station in 2023 due to lack of evidence. Officials said there was not enough evidence to support a charge of defamation against the two accusers, or to determine that Ki had indeed committed the crimes.
Ki's civil lawsuit for defamation is still ongoing. The defamation lawsuits filed by the two sides both had been suspended due to the court deciding they should wait for the results of the criminal investigation, and recommenced after the police closing the probe in 2023.
Ki, 36-year-old midfielder playing for FC Seoul of South Korea's division 1 K League 1, was a key member of the national squad spanning across three FIFA World Cups. He captained the team at the 2018 event in Russia.
He is also well-known here for a high-profile marriage with actress Han Hye-jin in 2013.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
