Court Upholds Preliminary Injunction Against MBC

The fact that a court accepted a preliminary injunction against broadcasting the contents of the so-called “X-File” scandal involving the National Security Planning Security turned out to be correct.

The Seoul Southern District Court yesterday dismissed a protest filed by MBC against a preliminary injunction filed by former JoongAng Ilbo president Hong Seok-hyun and Samsung Group’s corporate restructuring office head Lee Hak-soo against MBC, citing that a preliminary injunction was still in force.

The bench said, “If courts allow broadcasting companies to carry information obtained illegally only by stressing freedom of the press, it leads courts that must abide by the law to conniving at illegal activities,” adding, “It is legal to tentatively prohibit broadcasting the original sound of a recorded audiotape.”

The court said, “Since this ruling does not mean that all of the contents of the illegally recorded tape should not be broadcast, freedom of the press or the public’s right to know is not being infringed,” adding, “MBC will be able to receive a judgment over whether its report about this scandal after Hong and Lee filed the preliminary injunction against it is appropriate from courts by filing another lawsuit.”

When MBC planned to broadcast the contents of the bugging tape on its newscast at 9:00 p.m. on July 21, Hong and Lee filed a preliminary injunction against broadcasting the tape with the court. The court accepted it. In response, MBC filed a protest against the court’s ruling.

Ji-Seong Jeon verso@donga.com