Ex-spokesperson for opposition leader Lee, journalists indicted for alleged defamation of Yoon

Prosecutors have indicted a former presidential campaign spokesperson for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and two journalists for allegedly defaming President Yoon Suk Yeol during the last presidential race, officials said Tuesday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has been looking into allegations that a series of unfounded news reports published ahead of the 2022 presidential election defamed Yoon, who ultimately won against Lee of the Democratic Party. The office said that Song Pyeong-soo, who served as a spokesperson for Lee's election campaign, and two reporters -- affiliated with the cable channel JTBC and Repoact -- were formally indicted on charges of online defamation. According to prosecutors, the Repoact journalist is suspected of publishing a report ahead of the election alleging that Yoon lied about not knowing a broker involved in a high-profile development corruption scandal, despite having investigated him while serving as a prosecutor. Song allegedly provided the journalist w ith a false voice recording for the news story, which was published though the reporter knew it was not genuine. The other journalist was charged with fabricating interviews to falsely report in 2022 that Yoon, while serving as a prosecutor, had ended an investigation into the broker following a request from a special counsel. He is also charged with obstructing JTBC's business by misleading his superiors in the news room. The indictment is part of a broader investigation by prosecutors into alleged defamation against Yoon during the presidential race. Last month, Kim Man-bae, the owner of an asset management firm at the center of the development scandal, was indicted along with three other journalists on defamation charges. Prosecution officials said they will continue investigating journalists of the progressive Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper on similar defamation suspicions. Source: Yonhap News Agency