Kang drops defamation suit against comedian

Independent Representative Kang Yong-seok Tuesday withdrew his defamation lawsuit against comedian Choi Hyo-jong, who lampooned politicians on a comedy show.

According to the Yeongdeungpo Police Precinct in Seoul, Kang’s secretary submitted an application to police that dropped the charges on Tuesday morning.

“We didn’t care about Kang’s accusation at all because we had arranged the show with the consensus of producers, complying with broadcasting regulations,” said an official at G-Star Entertainment, the agency to which the comedian belongs. “Kang made a phone call to us and apologized for it, and we appreciated his withdrawal.”

During KBS’ popular sketch comedy show “Gag Concert” on Nov. 2, the 25-year-old comedian said, “It’s easy to become a lawmaker. All you have to do is get close to the leaders of the ruling party, become a candidate on the party’s ticket and run for election in a district that’s a stronghold of the ruling party.”

A day before he backpedaled on his lawsuit, Kang wrote on his blog that he used the comedian.

“A local court recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by female TV announcers against me on a charge of group defamation,” Kang said. “By accusing Choi, I was trying to say that the charge of ‘group defamation’ is totally nonsense.”

Kang was convicted of telling a group of college students last year that being a female broadcaster involves engaging in unwanted sexual relationships. After that, about 100 female television announcers filed a lawsuit against him on charges of group defamation.

By Kim Hee-jin [heejin@joongang.co.kr]