[Exclusive] Comments towards HYBE about 'Media Manipulation' and 'Mental Illness'... "Not False, Just Personal Opinion" No Charges

[Financial News] HYBE took legal action against a netizen who used expressions like 'media manipulation' and 'mental illness' towards HYBE in the Naver News comment section, but the prosecution concluded with no charges. It is difficult to see 'manipulation' as false, and rude expressions can be seen as personal opinions.  
According to the non-prosecution decision obtained by Financial News on the 20th, the Bucheon branch of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office dismissed the charges against Mr. A, who was accused of defamation and insult under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc., as 'not guilty' on the 4th.
Mr. A posted a comment under a Naver News article titled "HYBE's global girl group Cat's Eye enters the Billboard 'Bubbling Under Hot 100'" from his residence in Ontario, Canada, last September, saying, 'Oh, and HYBE recently acquired a U.S. media manipulation company.'
He also wrote in the comment section of another article titled "Min Hee-jin, who poured out anger, 'HYBE and the lawsuit cost 2.3 billion... I have to sell my house'" that 'HYBE seems to have a collective mental illness, did Bang Si-hyuk get juicy lighting like Hamas and just lied.'
In response, HYBE claimed, "The suspect defamed HYBE by falsely stating that HYBE manipulated the media unfairly regarding the acquisition of the PR agency 'The Agency' and insulted HYBE by comparing it to the terrorist group Hamas."
However, the prosecution stated, "The Agency Group is a PR agency that edits favorably for celebrities, so it is difficult to see the expression 'manipulation' as false," and "It cannot be concluded that HYBE manipulated the media in the U.S., and even if The Agency was expressed as a media manipulation company, it is difficult to see it as damaging HYBE's social evaluation," citing insufficient evidence.
The prosecution also noted, "Although rude expressions like 'mentally ill' and 'Hamas' were used in the comments, there is room to see these comments as personal opinions, and considering that the related issue has been reported multiple times and is a matter of public interest, and that the establishment of the crime of insult should be more strictly examined for public figures or matters, it is difficult to see the content of the writing as lowering HYBE's social evaluation," and "there is no evidence to acknowledge this."
The crime of insult under Article 311 of the Criminal Act means expressing an abstract judgment or contemptuous feeling that can lower a person's social evaluation without stating facts. However, if the expression is somewhat rude but does not lower the social evaluation of the other's personal value, it is not subject to punishment. The Supreme Court ruled in a 2015 precedent that when determining the establishment of the crime of insult, not only the content of the expression but also the context, relationship, overall context, and circumstances before and after should be comprehensively considered.
In particular, it is a legal consensus that exaggerated rhetoric or metaphors and one-time expressions used in the process of political or ideological debate can generally be included within the range that society can tolerate (tolerance limit). The Constitutional Court also pointed out in a 2002 decision that if expressions on the internet are excessively regulated based solely on order, it could rather suppress freedom of expression. The Seoul Northern District Court also ruled in a 2017 judgment that if criminal punishment is applied to criticism, satire, or parody on matters of public interest, even if some insulting expressions are included, it could lead to self-censorship by the public, thus suppressing freedom of expression, and therefore should be applied cautiously.  

yesji@fnnews.com Kim Ye-ji Reporter