In a win for common sense and reason, Choi Jong Bum (Goo Hara’s ex) had a lawsuit win against a malicious commenter overturned recently. Back in 2021, the court ruled a netizen’s comment defamatory (normally carrying a 300 million won fine) but suspended the indictment. Afterward, the netizen filed an appeal, and years later he’s getting that indictment overturned.
According to legal circles on September 19th, the Constitutional Court unanimously accepted a petition by a man, referred to as Mr. Jeong, to overturn the prosecution’s suspension of indictment. The prosecution had issued this suspension after concluding that Jeong’s comments on the internet article were defamatory but opted not to proceed with a trial. A suspension of indictment acknowledges the crime but considers various factors to not pursue prosecution.
At the time, it seemed like a prime case of showing how easy it was to get defamation wins in Korea considering Choi Jong Bum’s conviction, actions, and reputation as it was. While this ruling makes sense, it does seem to mostly come from the fact that he didn’t speculate or express opinion, as well as the fact that Choi Jong Bum didn’t have much reputation to lose.
The Constitutional Court concluded that Jeong’s comment did not meet the criteria for criminal defamation under the law, taking into account the context and number of times the comment was posted.
The court explained, “Defamation, as defined under the law, refers to expressing ‘abstract judgments’ or ‘contemptuous emotions’ without stating factual information, which can lower a person’s social standing. While the comment in this case was rude and vulgar, it is difficult to conclude that it expressed contemptuous feelings that would lower the victim’s social reputation.”
As for the comment, well, nobody would blame the guy.
In July 2021, Jeong commented on an article titled “Goo Hara’s Ex-Boyfriend Choi Jong-bum Reveals Gaunt Appearance”, which was posted online. Jeong wrote, “Is he revealing his gaunt appearance to gain sympathy? Someone like that X wouldn’t receive any sympathy, even if he killed himself!”
Not a big deal either way in terms of changing things, but I’ll celebrate any loss this guy takes, especially knowing he had enough of an ego to do what he did and still be fuming over Internet comments calling him a scumbag.
