PD Notebook Cleared in Damages Lawsuit Over US Beef Report
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
A court rejected a collective lawsuit by nearly 2,500 people, Tuesday, against investigative reporting program, PD Notebook, which was accused of destabilizing the country through what they call its ``distorted reporting'' of U.S. beef.
The Seoul Southern District Court ruled that the information in the program may have been partially inaccurate, but its producers could not be responsible for the protests driven by the program.
``The program often delivers provocative and exaggerated information, but it's acceptable with regard to the people's right to know, meaning the program's producers are not responsible for the protests,'' Judge Yang Hyun-joo said, adding that there was no evidence proving the program could have anticipated the months-long protests triggered in its aftermath.
Lee Heon, a legal representative for the plaintiffs, said the group would appeal the case.
In April last year, an episode of the program aired by local broadcaster, MBC, suggested that those who consume U.S. beef could contract the human form of ``mad cow disease."
It enraged numerous citizens discontented with the result of Seoul-Washington talks on resuming the U.S. beef imports, resulting in tens of thousands of people taking to the streets of downtown Seoul calling for the agreement to be nullified.
The protests continued for about three months, significantly undermining the leadership of newly-inaugurated President Lee Myung-bak. At the height of the protest, Lee's approval rating fell to single digit figures.
In September, 2,455 people filed a collective suit against the producers of PD Notebook, demanding 2.45 billion won ($1.68 million) in compensation for damages caused by what they called an ``inflammatory report.''
After translation errors were found by the prosecution, MBC apologized for the mistakes last August.