A lower court handed down a three-year prison term for a trainee doctor who had resigned as part of the collective action against the medical school quota hike and uploaded on foreign websites a “blacklist” of doctors and medical students who did not participate in such action. 

The Seoul Central District Court issued the verdict on Thursday for the doctor, identified by his surname Ryu, who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crime and of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. 

The court separately slapped a fine of ten million won, or some seven-thousand-400 U.S. dollars, on a trainee doctor, surnamed Jeong, for aiding and abetting Ryu. 

In issuing its ruling, the court said the accused had defamed victims and launched malicious attacks and threats against them. 

Ryu is accused of uploading, between last August and September, a list of two-thousand-974 doctors and medical students who did not participate in the collective action against the medical school quota hike on foreign sites, including Pastebin and Archive. 

The Seoul Medical Association protested the court ruling, calling it a political judgement that neglected legal principles and added it plans to support the defendants’ appeal.