The cyber defamation law (사이버 모욕죄) is a legislation in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

which refers to

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

slander Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

that is expressed online, typically via a publicly accessible website. Cyber defamation often falls under the scope of existing libel and slander laws in most jurisdictions and is typically treated as a tort as opposed to a crime.

Overview

The cyber defamation law that the

South Korean government The Government of South Korea is the union government of the South Korea, Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of sta ...

pursues allows police to crack down on hateful comments without any reports from victims. The

Korea Communications Commission Korea Communications Commission () is a South Korean media regulation agency modeled after the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America. It was established on February 29, 2008, combining the former ''Korean Broadcasting C ...

(KCC), South Korea's telecommunications and broadcasting regulator, has been considering revising the current Telecommunications Law and put more regulations and deeper scrutiny on major Internet portals.

Controversies

There have been talks about introducing the stricter laws in

cyberspace Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday rea ...

. A famous celebrity's suicide in South Korea, triggered the controversies once again as to whether such law is necessary. The law supported by the governing

Grand National Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...

(GNP), if implemented, will allow police to investigate the cyber defamation cases without any complaints of the victims. The opposition

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

has been against the introduction of such law.

Advocate views

* The current laws have failed to prevent the number of the victims from increasing at an escalating rate. *

Freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

comes with responsibility. * Because information and rumors can travel in a matter of seconds across the Internet,

cyber-bullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

and cyber defamation could take a significant toll on each victim without such strict regulations by authorities.

Opposing views

* There are already ways to regulate the cyberspace with the current laws. * It is potentially possible for the law to be exploited by authorities in an attempt to crack down on people who express opposite views. * Such law might cause a harmful effect on

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

. * "Defamation" is too ambiguous to be defined by a third party, other than the victims.

Survey

A Research & Research survey of 800 Korean people conducted on Jan. 14, 2009 showed that 60% supported the

GNP The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...

-led bill dealing with cyber defamation, and 32.1% opposed it.

Celebrities' suicide

Some Korean celebrities have suffered from severe depression, caused in part by malicious online comments, before committing suicide. *

Lee Eun-ju Lee Eun-ju (December 22, 1980 – February 22, 2005) was a South Korean actress. She was the star of hit films including ''Taegukgi'' and ''The Scarlet Letter''. She died by suicide at age 24. Life and career Born in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, Sou ...

* Jung Da Bin *

U;Nee Lee Hye-ryeon (이혜련), later name changed to Heo Yun (허윤), (May 3, 1981 – January 21, 2007) best known by her stage name as U;Nee () was a South Korean singer, rapper, dancer and actress. U;Nee committed suicide on January 21, 2007 ...

Choi Jin-sil Choi Jin-Sil (December 24, 1968 – October 2, 2008) was a South Korean actress. She was considered one of the best actresses in South Korea, nicknamed "The Nation's Actress". She played leading roles in 18 films and 20 television dramas, appea ...

Sulli Choi Jin-ri (March 29, 1994 – October 13 or 14, 2019), better known by her stage name Sulli (), was a South Korean actress and singer. She first made her debut as a child actress, appearing as a supporting cast member on the SBS historical d ...

Goo Hara Goo Hara (; January 3, 1991 – November 24, 2019), also known mononymously as Hara, was a South Korean pop singer and actress. She was a member of the girl group Kara, and had also appeared in television dramas including ''City Hunter'' (201 ...

Online gaming

Vast majority of cyber defamation police reports arise from online games. League of Legends is a game which is notorious for such acts. In 2015 alone, South Korean law enforcement received and investigated over 8000 reports of cyber defamation; over half of these cases involve League of Legends where players head to police stations as a retaliation after being verbally abused by teammates or opponents. There are even 'settlement fee hunters', where players enter games and grief with intention of being insulted by other players. In some cases, such settlement fee hunters file police reports against over 50 other individuals at once. Most of the victims of settlement fee hunters are teenagers, since many parents are willing to pay settlement fees ranging from 300 thousand to 2 million KRW (300 to 2000 USD) to avoid their children having to go to trial and risk gaining criminal records.

References

{{Reflist Computer law Defamation Human rights abuses in South Korea Law of South Korea