Jang Woo-hyuk assault allegations head to appellate court

The appellate trial for an agency employee, identified as A, is scheduled to begin on September 10 at the Seoul Western District Court. A is accused of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection through defamation.

The case stems from 2022 online posts in which A alleged that singer Jang Woo-hyuk, a former member of the group H.O.T., subjected her to verbal abuse and physical assault during business trips in 2014 and at a broadcasting station in 2020. Jang denied these claims, asserting that A was actually the one who assaulted him in 2020, and subsequently sued for defamation.

While prosecutors determined that the 2014 incident was factual, they indicted A on the grounds that the 2020 assault claim was false. However, a first-instance court acquitted A, ruling that Jang’s testimony lacked credibility. The court noted that Jang had not sought disciplinary action against A following the alleged incidents and that A’s accounts were consistent and detailed. The prosecution has appealed this acquittal, leading to the upcoming second trial.