Kato Tatsuya's car was thrown raw eggs (webpage screenshot)
International Online Article: According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun reported on November 27, Japan's Sankei Shimbun Seoul bureau chief Kato Tatsuya was also accused of "defaming the reputation of South Korean President Park Geun-hye" and accepted the first de facto public trial in Seoul on the 27th. On the same day, members of some South Korean civic groups went to the court to protest and told Tatsuya Kato that the car was still laying eggs, causing riots inside and outside the courtroom.
It is reported that on the morning of the 27th, about 100 members of civic groups criticizing the Sankei Shimbun and reporters from the two countries gathered at the Seoul Central District Court.
Trials of foreign journalists on the grounds of defamation are very rare. Kato also entered the courtroom before 10 a.m. of the start of the trial, and the auditorium of about 30 seats was already filled with people and related people, and about 40 people were standing to observe.
South Korea does not allow people to demonstrate in the courthouse, but some members of civic groups shouted "Kato Tatsuya, apologize to the Korean people" and "Quickly detain Kato Tatsuya" in the audience, and also held up signs condemning Kato, and several men were subsequently ordered to withdraw from the court.
The trial reportedly lasted about an hour, as Tatsuya Kato was also in a car preparing to leave the courthouse. Members of civic groups surrounded him, threw several raw eggs, and others lay in front of the car trying to prevent him from leaving, and the car was tagged with a paper asking for an apology.
About four months ago, Tatsuya Kato also published a report on Park Geun-hye's private life in the Sankei Shimbun, saying that she had a "secret meeting with a man" on the day of the shipwreck of the Sewol, and was later prosecuted for "defamation."
Tatsuya Kato, who is also currently barred from leaving South Korea, insisted in court that there was no intention of defamation, fully denying the allegations. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga expressed "great regret" at a press conference on the morning of the 27th.
A man lies in front of a car and tries to block the passage of the car (screenshot of the website)
A member of a civic group even lay directly in the car (screenshot of the webpage)
Members of civic groups protest in front of the car (screenshot of webpage)
Tatsuya Kato also walked into the Seoul Central District Court (screenshot of the website)