A Jeju court ruled that former main opposition People Power Party(PPP) Rep. Tae Yong-ho had defamed a group representing the families of victims of the Jeju April 3 uprising.

The Jeju District Court on Wednesday sided with the Association for the Bereaved Families of the April 3 Victims in a defamation suit, ordering the former defector-turned-lawmaker to pay ten million won, or around six-thousand-800 U.S. dollars in damages.

In February 2023, Tae claimed on social media and in a press release that the 1948 civilian uprising had been sparked by North Korea's late founder, Kim Il-sung.

The court said it would be reasonable to conclude, based on a government fact-finding report on the incident, that Tae had posted false information and damaged the association's reputation.

The court, however, dismissed other similar suits filed by the association chief, head of another families' group and a survivor of the event, determining that the comments did not appear to refer to individual victims or family members.