MBC reporter who interviewed Mrs. Kim Geun-hee under false pretense of being a police officer sentenced to fine = South Korea

Fines have been finalized for two MBC reporters who were brought to court for falsely impersonating police while interviewing Kim Gun-hee, the wife of President Yoon Seo-gyul.
The South Korean Supreme Court made this decision on the 4th against defendant A, an MBC reporter, and defendant B, a video producer, who are accused of misrepresenting their civil servant qualifications and breaking into a shared residence. Most
The high court ruled that the lower court (second instance) verdict was just, finding him guilty of falsifying his public servant qualifications and not guilty of trespassing into a shared residence, and sentencing him to a fine of 1.5 million won (approximately 160,000 yen).
In July 2021, when Defendant A and others were reporting on the suspicion of plagiarism of Mrs. Kim's doctoral thesis, they were interviewed by police in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, where Mrs. Kim's supervisor lived.
He is accused of pretending to be a police officer. At that time, in order to trace the whereabouts of their supervisor, the two talked to the owner of a car parked in front of the address, saying, ``This is the police,'' and ``Please tell me which property you signed the contract for.''
"Can I have it?" he asked, acting as if he were conducting an investigation. The investigation also revealed that the suspect walked around the residence for approximately 15 minutes and attempted to open windows and other windows.
Afterwards, MBC broadcast an apology, and President Yoon's side accused defendant A and others, calling it ``a serious crime that deceived the public and cannot be ignored.'' Defendant A during the trial process
The company said, ``It was an accidental action, but we are remorseful.'' The first and second trial sentenced defendants A and B to fines of 1.5 million won each.
The First Instance Chamber held that, ``Even if we take into account the public interest purpose of the interview, it is illegal to misrepresent the police's qualifications in an unfair manner.''
I have to say that he bears a heavy responsibility,'' and clarified the reason for the sentence, saying, ``However, it cannot be considered that the method of the crime was elaborate or planned.''
Furthermore, regarding the reason why they were found not guilty of the charge of home invasion, they stated, ``The person walked around outside the exterior wall of the residence.
There were no fences or enclosures to make it clear that people were restricted from entering and exiting the building,'' he said, adding, ``The act of opening the windows appears to have been to call in residents for interviews.''
The second umpire's decision was the same as the first umpire. The Uijeongbu District Court, the second trial court, upheld the 1.5 million won fine in September last year. The Second Instance Chamber stated, ``The crime of misrepresenting one's public servant qualifications is serious.''
"There is no problem with the first-instance court's ruling that the case undermined trust in the state functions carried out by public officials," the court said, explaining its reasons for dismissing the appeal.
The Supreme Court also upheld the ruling of the second instance court. The Supreme Court stated, "The original instance court (second instance court) misunderstood the legal principles.
There was no fault," and upheld the second-instance ruling imposing a fine of 1.5 million won.