Seoul: A court on Friday sentenced the former director of public broadcaster KTV to a suspended prison term of one year for censoring content that criticized former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed 2024 martial law bid. The Seoul Central District Court convicted Lee Eun-woo of ordering his staff to delete subtitles that carried political remarks criticizing the illegality and unconstitutionality of the martial law declaration.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the court stated that Lee's actions constituted an active effort to defend the legitimacy of the martial law by removing critical content. The court highlighted that Lee failed to uphold KTV's duty to maintain fairness as a public broadcaster. Lee's defense that his actions were in line with KTV's role as a government promotional channel was dismissed by the court.
The court emphasized that promoting government policies must be grounded in providing accurate facts. It questioned the appropriateness of hiding the unconstitutionality, illegality, and updates related to the martial law under the guise of proper public relations.
Separately, Lee remains under investigation by special counsel Kwon Chang-young's team on suspicions of repeatedly broadcasting news that justified the insurrection while blocking and deleting coverage critical of the declaration.