BIGBANG’s Seungri has won a lawsuit against a reporter who falsely accused the singer of drink-driving.
A Seoul Central District judge has recently ruled in favour of BIGBANG’s Seungri in a defamation lawsuit whereby a reporter claimed that the singer was drink-driving.
According to reports, the issue arose two years ago when Seungri attended a party before being involved in a car accident afterwards. While the singer was found to have no alcohol in his system, a reporter who attended the party heard someone claim that Seungri had consumed alcohol, and subsequently began posting articles using that overheard statement as a fact.
Seungri sued the reporter for defamation and slander, and the final ruling was handed down on August 21 where in the judge ruled in favour of the singer, stating that “The witness’ testimony may have been dishonest or it could have been an assumption, but [the reporter] treated it as if it were true and wrote the articles as such.”
In response, Seungri sued the reporter, saying the articles and Twitter posts were considered defamation and slander. At the time, he asked for 50 million won (approximately $44,800) as damage compensation.
In the end, the judge ruled in favor of Seungri, saying, “The witness’s testimony may have been dishonest or it could have been an assumption, but Mr. Kim treated it as if it were true and wrote the articles as such.”
Park Sa-lim, Seoul