Former National Police Commissioner Cho Hyeon-oh, who was sentenced to prison in the first trial for leading a police commentary operation during the Lee Myung-bak administration, was acquitted on some charges and the sentence was reduced.
The 2nd Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Yoon Seung-eun, Kim Dae-hyeon, and Ha Tae-han) sentenced former Commissioner Cho, who was charged with obstructing the exercise of his right to abuse of power, on the 15th, breaking the first trial that sentenced him to two years in prison and sentenced him to one year and six months in prison.
While the first trial court found Cho guilty of the charges, the appellate court found some comments not guilty.
The court pointed out, "The accused's actions were unjustly systematically and systematically intervened by the police in the process of forming the people's will, which went against the constitutional order and violated the public's expectations and trust in the police," the court said.
However, "the defendant served as the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the National Police Agency for 27 months, but among the Internet posts confirmed through the search and seizure, only 12,800 comments were prosecuted, which is significantly higher than comments made by other agencies such as the National Intelligence Service or the National Security Agency. Little," he explained, explaining the sentencing background.
"The prosecution said that the accused manipulated public opinion with political biased comments, but it seems that only 5% of the comments, such as defending the government's position, actually made comments," he added.
Former Commissioner Cho was tried in October 2018 on charges of mobilizing police organizations such as security, information and public relations to post friendly comments to the government online while serving as the commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the commissioner of the National Police Agency from January 2010 to April 2012. has been handed over to
Meanwhile, former Commissioner Cho was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and a fine of 30 million won in May of last year on charges of accepting a bribe of 50 million won in cash from the CEO of a construction company.
(Photo = Yonhap News)