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Han Dong-hoon wins 70 million won in suit over 'drinking party' allegations

Published: 13 Aug. 2025, 17:23 Updated: 13 Aug. 2025, 19:32

Kim Eui-kyeom, the newly appointed head of the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency, delivers a greeting at a plenary session of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on July 21. [YONHAP]

The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday ordered Kim Eui-kyeom, head of the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency, to pay damages to former People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon for spreading false allegations about a so-called Cheongdam-dong drinking party.

Han filed a 100 million won ($72,300) damages suit against Kim as well as Kang Jin-gu, the former head of the progressive YouTube channel The Tamsa, and others. The court partially sided with Han, ordering Kim, Kang and other Tamsa affiliates to pay a combined 70 million won. It also ordered a man surnamed Lee — the ex-boyfriend of the source of the allegation, a cellist surnamed Park — to pay 10 million won.

“The facts alleged by the defendants are deemed false,” the court said in its ruling.

The allegations, jointly raised by Kim and The Tamsa in October 2022, claimed that on July 19, 2022, then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, then-Justice Minister Han and some 30 lawyers from the law firm Kim & Chang drank together until dawn at a luxury bar in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. The claim was based on an audio recording of a phone conversation between Park and Lee.

Han immediately denied the claim, saying to Kim, then a Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker, “I will stake my ministerial position on it. What will you stake, assemblyman?” Nonetheless, The Tamsa broadcast the recording that evening, and speculation spread widely in liberal circles. In November 2022, Park appeared before police and admitted she had lied to deceive her ex-boyfriend, confirming the story was fabricated.

Former conservative People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon speaks with the press in Daejeon on March 25. [NEWS1]

At the time, Kim said, “If the cellist’s account is true, I express my sincere regret to President Yoon and others involved.” But in August 2023, he reversed course, saying, “Calling this fake news is an attempt to frame me.” Kim lost in the DP primary for Gunsan–Gimje–Buan ahead of the April 2024 general election and was appointed to his current post in July.

The Tamsa has maintained its claims even after Park’s admission, posting a YouTube video identifying what it claimed was the bar in question. The bar’s owner sought an injunction to have the video removed. Park has consistently insisted her remarks were fabricated, saying, “My conversation was edited without consent to create fake news.”

Separately, Kim, Kang and others are on trial on charges of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act. In the first hearing in December 2024, they denied all charges. Kang and Lee are also charged with attempted coercion for allegedly trying to pressure Park into giving an interview.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom staff.
BY KIM JUN-YOUNG [[email protected]]