Joe loses his civil case against Ban

Actor Joe Deok-je has been ordered to pay 30 million won ($25,194) to actress Ban Min-jung for pain and suffering, according to civil court decision made on Thursday,

Joe brought a civil case against Ban, claiming that she had made false accusations against him and demanding compensation. The court ruled against Joe and ordered him to compensate Ban as “the plaintiff’s sexual assault against the defendant has been proven, thus the plaintiff is liable to compensate the defendant.”

Moreover, the court denounced Joe stating that “the plaintiff only aggravated the defendant’s suffering by accusing her of defamation instead of feeling any remorse [for his actions],” while Joe’s counterclaim went dismissed.

Joe was found guilty of sexually harassing Ban while shooting a film in April 2015. Although the first trial found Joe not guilty, the second trial and a Supreme Court decision declared him guilty and sentenced him to one year in prison, two years of suspended sentence and 40 hours of mandatory clinical treatment.

Before the Supreme Court verdict came out, Joe argued that Ban was falsely accusing him and sued her, demanding 50 million won in compensation. Ban countersued, demanding a compensation of 100 million won.

By Lee Jae-lim