A. The judgment of the court below which found the defendant guilty of the facts charged of this case, although it did not recognize that the contents of the mail sent by him are false, and furthermore, it was believed to be for the benefit of the entire clans and sent mail according to the direction of the former president, and thus, it is justified.

B. The sentence of an unreasonable sentencing (the fine of KRW 500,000) imposed by the lower court is excessively unreasonable.

2. Judgment on the assertion of mistake of facts

A. In the crime of defamation of relevant legal principles, a statement of fact refers to a report or statement of the past or present facts which is a substitute to an expression of opinion that is a value judgment or evaluation, and its contents refer to what can be proved by evidence, and when distinguishing whether a statement of determination is a fact or an opinion, it shall be determined in light of the ordinary meaning and usage of the language, the possibility of proof, the context in which the expression at issue was used, the social situation in which the expression was made, etc.

(See Supreme Court Decisions 97Do2956 delivered on March 24, 1998; 2004Do6371 delivered on September 28, 2006, etc.). In order for the crime of defamation to be established by a false statement of facts under Article 307(2) of the Criminal Act, the offender should publicly indicate the fact, and should have been aware that the alleged fact would undermine the people’s social evaluation, and that the offender should have recognized such fact as false.

If the important part here is consistent with objective facts, there is a little difference from truth or somewhat exaggerated expression in detail.

Even if it cannot be viewed as false facts, but in judging whether it is false or not, the purport of the whole statement of facts is examined.