Two Journalists Sentenced for Extortion in Daegu

Two journalists from an online media outlet have been sentenced to prison for extorting over 30 million won from local governments in South Korea. On May 22, the Daegu District Court's Pohang branch, presided over by Judge Park Hyun-sook, sentenced the two reporters, identified as A and B, to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years, for their involvement in extortion.

The court found that in July 2023, A threatened the local government of Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, stating that if they did not pay advertising fees, he would publish negative articles about them, resulting in a payment of 1.1 million won.

In addition to threatening to write disparaging articles, the journalists also coerced local governments by claiming they would file extensive requests for information unless they received payment. B extorted 4 million won from Pohang City between February 2020 and July 2022 by threatening to submit numerous information requests. Similarly, A received 6.9 million won from Yeongdeok-gun after filing seven information requests from March 2022 to April 2023.

The two journalists shared their tactics and, from March 2022, submitted eight information requests to Pohang City, ultimately receiving 11.7 million won before retracting their requests. Judge Park noted that while the nature of their crimes was serious, the fact that A and B made efforts to return the money and restore the victims was taken into consideration during sentencing.