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Shin Jung-ah, who was put behind bars for 18 months for faking a university diploma and misappropriating funds of an art gallery she once worked for, has agreed to receive 80 million won in compensation from the Munhwa Ilbo, which posted nude photos it claimed were of her in September 2007. The daily newspaper also published a story accusing Shin of lobbying influential figures by sleeping with them.
According to the Seoul High Court, Tuesday, both Shin and the newspaper accepted court arbitration, ending a three-year-long legal battle. Under the terms, Shin will receive 80 million won in compensation from Munhwa Ilbo. In return, the former Dongguk University art professor will drop a suit requesting the paper to publish a correction on the controversial article.
The affair started in September 2007 when the newspaper published a story that Shin lobbied politicians, government officials and other prominent figures to gain favors in her career by having sex with them, along with the nude photos. But Shin claimed the story was fabricated and she was never photographed naked.
Shin took the case to the court two months later, arguing Munhwa Ilbo violated her dignity and portrait rights. She demanded the newspaper publish a correction and pay her 1 billion won in compensation.
A lower court ruled that the paper pay her 1.5 billion won, saying the newspaper wrote the unfounded story and made public manipulated photos to increase its circulation and upgrade its brand power. Munhwa Ilbo was also ordered to put a correction story on its front page that Shin never attempted to use sex for her advancement.
But the paper appealed to higher courts and after four rounds of court arbitration, both sides agreed to settle the case before a ruling.
