Youngtak Spreading False Claims of 15 Billion...Yecheon Brewery CEO found guilty
Jun 12, 2025
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On the 12th, the Supreme Court's first division (Chief Justice Shin Sook-hee) confirmed the original ruling, which sentenced Baek, the CEO of Yecheon Brewery, and Cho, the head of the Seoul branch, to four months in prison and one year of probation, respectively, on charges of defamation under the Information and Communication Network Act.
In June 2021, when negotiations on renewing the trademark and advertising models of the "Yeongtak Makgeolli" broke down, they demanded KRW 15 billion for three yearsHe was indicted on charges of defamation by spreading remarks such as " to the media and others by spreading false information.
Cho was also accused of calling Youngtak's mother and threatening to interfere with her entertainment activities.
The first trial found them guilty of all charges and ordered the two to serve six months in prison, one year of probation, and 120 hours of community service, respectively, but the second trial reduced the sentence to 'actually timely defamation charges' on the grounds that some of the remarks were not proven to be false.
In particular, the second trial said, "Yeongtak demanded 15 billion won for three years, 5 billion won per year.", "My mother told me that if I didn't hold a memorial service, the company would go bankrupt." was in fact timely in making a judgment on the remarks.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals of both the prosecution and the defendant, confirming the original trial as it is.
Meanwhile, Youngtak also won a civil lawsuit against Yecheon Brewery in a trademark dispute, and Yecheon Brewery cannot use the name 'Yeongtak' for makgeolli products.
narusi@sportschosun.com
