By Kwon Mee-yoo
Comedian Roh Jeong-ryeol, 39, was indicted without physical detention for insulting Rep. Cho Jeon-hyeok of the ruling Grand National Party.
The Seoul Nambu District Prosecutors’ Office charged Roh for referring to the lawmaker as an animal.
According to the prosecution, Roh said, “Defamation only applies to humans, not animals,” at an event organized by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union (KTU) in May.
Roh made the remark in response to the event’s emcee who said that his criticism of Rep. Cho might constitute defamation of Cho.
Rep. Cho had disclosed the list of teachers belonging to unions and other organizations on his website in April, despite the court’s decision that it was illegal to do so. The court later ordered Cho to pay 30 million won per day for each day the list remained on his website, to the union as compensation.
Upon the news of the indictment, Roh said that he has no intention of taking back what he said about Cho. “I have already been questioned. There is no change in my position,” Roh said.
Roh graduated from Seoul National University and passed the civil service examination before debuting as a comedian through open recruitment at MBC in 1996. Currently, he hosts a current affairs comedy show on CBS FM radio.
