By Yun Suh-young
A Seoul court ordered an internet news provider to compensate Chung Yong-jin, vice chairman of Shinsegae Corp., for taking pictures of a closed meeting of the families of his and his then prospective bride’s families and making them public alongside an article.
The Seoul Central District Court ordered the Internet media and its reporter to pay 15 million won ($13,221) in compensation to Chung and his wife. The company was ordered to delete the article about the couple.
Chung filed a suit against the company and the reporter who wrote an article about a meeting between the couple’s families which took place in April, a month before they married. Chung originally asked for 200 million won in compensation.
The reporter had apparently waited outside the hotel where the meeting took place and secretly took photos of the couple. Chung also claimed the reporter had eavesdropped on the conversation that took place and the article contained details of this.
“Although Chung is a public figure, we cannot say that the meeting between the families was something the public should be informed of,” the court ruled. It also said eavesdropping on private conversations and taking pictures secretly was a violation of privacy.