Could Lee Jae-myung's Mentioned 'Ilbe Shutdown' Become a Reality?

Legal experts are sharply divided over Lee Jae-myung's remarks about considering the shutdown of hate-filled websites such as Ilbe Storehouse (Ilbe). Some warn that such a move would violate constitutional freedom of expression, while others argue that strong sanctions are needed against the spread of antisocial false information.
According to political circles on the 2nd, Lee posted on X, formerly Twitter, on the 24th of last month, saying, "Under strict conditions, it seems necessary to review allowing punishment and punitive damages for mockery and hate speech, the shutdown of sites like Ilbe that tolerate and encourage mockery and hate, and other necessary measures such as fines." He added, "I will also instruct the State Council of South Korea to review it." His remarks came shortly after it was reported that individuals believed to be Ilbe users had mocked former President Roh Moo-hyun the previous day.
This is not the first time the government has considered shutting down a website. During the Moon Jae-in administration in 2018, the government formally reviewed the shutdown of Ilbe after a National Petition to the Blue House drew more than 230,000 supporters, but the plan was never carried out.
To shut down an entire site, a large share of its posts must qualify as illegal information. Even during the earlier debate, Ilbe was judged not to meet the so-called "70% illegal content" threshold. Under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, illegal information includes obscenity, defamation through the distribution of facts or falsehoods intended to slander a person, content that causes fear or anxiety, and leaks of state secrets.
Supreme Court of Korea precedents also say that in cases of a full site shutdown, courts must comprehensively consider the website's original purpose and the proportion of illegal content.
Some legal experts remain skeptical about a shutdown. A lawyer who formerly served as a chief judge said, "Past Supreme Court of Korea cases that upheld site shutdowns involved exceptional circumstances directly tied to national security." He added, "In ordinary cases such as defamation, the principle is to respond by removing the individual post in question, so if the Korea Media and Communications Commission shuts down an entire site, it is likely to lose in court."
Kwak Joon-ho, a lawyer at the law firm Cheong, also warned of the side effects of an overly broad shutdown. "False content can be punished on a case-by-case basis through defamation or insult charges," he said. "If the site itself is blocked, freedom of expression will be infringed, and even channels for monitoring and criticizing state power could be cut off." Another former chief judge-turned-lawyer also expressed concern that "a bad precedent could be set if sites are shut down according to the preferences of those in power."
Still, the possibility has not been ruled out entirely. In a written briefing shortly after Lee's remarks, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said it would "broadly review legislative alternatives, including fines and shutdown measures for platforms that tolerate and promote hate content, as well as the introduction of punishment and punitive damages for mockery and hate speech."
There is also a counterargument within the legal community. The view is that strong administrative regulation is unavoidable to prevent the growing damage to personal rights online. Noh Hee-bum, a lawyer and former research judge at the Constitutional Court of Korea, said, "Freedom of expression must be broadly guaranteed, but no country allows unlimited tolerance for false information that defames others." He added, "As the spread of false information through online communities and YouTube has reached a level that destroys people's lives, we should not be bound by past standards and must introduce strong sanctions and regulations."
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