The business that publicly criticized the franchise owner is found not guilty in the appeal trial.

A franchisee who was accused of publicly criticizing a franchise owner was found not guilty in the first trial and also in the appeals court.

On the 9th of last month, the 4th Criminal Division of the Daegu District Court dismissed the prosecution's appeal and upheld the original verdict of acquittal at the appeal trial of Mr. A, a man in his 40s who was indicted on charges of defamation.

In 2022, Mr. A was accused of spreading the information to other franchise owners that “Mr. B, one of the franchise owners, intentionally failed to repay his debt and was even subject to criminal punishment.”

Mr. B, who heard this from other store owners, filed a complaint against Mr. A, and the investigation began.

Mr. A denied the charges. Mr. B was violating the franchise agreement by purchasing materials through external companies other than those designated by the head office, and claimed that the problem arose by introducing these external companies to other store owners. He emphasized that he only met with franchise owners for related discussions and did not make any defamatory remarks.

The prosecution determined that Mr. A was guilty based on the statements of the franchise owners and requested a summary order of a fine of 2 million won. Afterwards, a court order was issued, but Mr. A, who refused to comply, requested a formal trial.

The first trial court declared him not guilty. The court said, "The part where the victim heard the defendant's remarks from the franchise owners is nothing more than a report containing a restated statement, so it has no evidence," and added, "The only evidence that could be consistent with the facts of the indictment is the store owners' statements that they heard the defendant's remarks directly."

However, he added, "It is not confirmed that the defendant made the remarks, as the statements of the store owners are different from the contents stated in the indictment. Since the defendant and the store owners are going through a legal dispute, it is difficult to believe their statements as is."

The prosecution, dissatisfied with this, filed an appeal on the grounds of misconception of facts. However, the appellate court also upheld the not guilty verdict, saying there were no reasonable circumstances to consider the original trial's decision unjust.

Attorney Jeon Hyeong-oh of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "During the investigation, the store owners were unable to properly answer the testimonies or their statements were conflicting. We emphasized that their statements were intended to punish Mr. A for his ill-feeling, and the court also accepted this and appears to have failed to recognize its credibility."

Reporter Kwon Byeong-seok (bsk730@fnnews.com)

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Business operator who publicly criticized franchise owner is found not guilty in appeal trial (link)