Seo Geoseok, the Superintendent of Jeonbuk Education, Confirmed Invalidating Election Result Due to False Fact Publication

Seo Geoseok, the Superintendent of Jeonbuk Education, received an invalidating election result after a fine of 5 million won was confirmed for the charge of publishing false facts while denying allegations of assaulting a fellow professor.

On the 26th, the 2nd Division of the Supreme Court (Chief Judge Kwun Young-jun) upheld the original ruling in the appeal trial of Superintendent Seo, who was indicted for the charge of publishing false facts. With this ruling, Superintendent Seo must pay a fine of 5 million won for violating the Public Official Election Act and has lost his position as superintendent.

The incident dates back to 2013. At that time, Seo, serving as the president of Jeonbuk National University, faced allegations of assaulting Professor Lee Gui-jae concerning the issue of running for the next presidency.

Later, during the local elections in May 2022, Superintendent Seo posted on social media, "I want to clarify again that I have never committed violence against a fellow professor," and also made statements denying the assault during the election debate.

The first trial court acquitted based on the retraction of Professor Lee's testimony. The court stated, "The testimony during the police investigation, which seemed to support the allegation that the defendant slapped the professor, is not credible," adding, "It is difficult to recognize this based solely on the remaining evidence submitted by the prosecution, including medical records."

However, the second trial court acknowledged the assault by Superintendent Seo and overturned the first ruling. The appellate court noted, "The testimonies of certain professors present at the scene of the controversial incident align more with the fact that there was mutual assault between the defendant and Professor Lee."

Additionally, it judged, "In terms of motive, it is more reasonable to see the assault by Professor Lee as a response to mutual assault rather than unilateral assault against the defendant."

The second trial court stated, "Professor Lee confessed that his testimony during the original trial was perjury, and his confession does not appear to be false," adding, "The assault incident emerged as a significant issue influenced by the allegations raised by the opponent during the local elections, which could greatly affect the defendant's ability to gain support from voters and be elected."

The Supreme Court stated, "There are no errors that affected the ruling due to violating the laws of logic and experience or misunderstanding the legal principles related to the Public Official Election Act," and rejected appeals from both the prosecution and the defendant.

Image source: Seo Geoseok, Superintendent of Jeonbuk Education / News1