Netizen Who Called Shin Daechul a "Thug" for Backing Lee Jae Myung: Supreme Court Says It Was Not Insult

[Financial News] A Supreme Court ruling has found that a netizen who referred to Shin Daechul, guitarist of the rock band Sinawe, as a "thug" online after he publicly declared support for Lee Jae Myung, then the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate ahead of the 2022 election, cannot be punished for insult.
According to Yonhap News Agency and others on the 28th, the Second Division of the Supreme Court of Korea, presided over by Justice Kwon Young-jun, recently overturned a lower court ruling that had fined A, 51, 500,000 won on insult charges and sent the case back to Jeju District Court with instructions consistent with acquittal.
A was brought to trial after posting a comment on an online news article in February 2022 that reported Shin had publicly declared support for Lee, then a presidential candidate. The comment read, "Is it newsworthy that a thug supports a thug?"
The trial court found A guilty, saying that although the term "thug" is listed as a standard word in the Korean dictionary, it can carry a derogatory meaning. It ruled that the expression amounted to an abstract judgment or contemptuous expression that could lower Shin's social reputation, and imposed a fine of 500,000 won.
A appealed the first ruling, but the appellate court also upheld the same fine of 500,000 won.
The Supreme Court, however, took a different view. It said the expression could not be seen as seriously violating an individual's personality rights or as a hateful remark so degrading that it would destroy the other person's dignity.
The court said the remark appeared to be a somewhat crude expression used to convey A's negative or critical opinion and feelings about Shin's statement of support for the presidential candidate and the resulting news coverage. It also said the political nature of comment sections as a public forum must be taken into account.
It added that "there is a need for caution in invoking criminal punishment by applying the standard for insult to expressions of this degree."
[email protected] Kim Soo-yeon Reporter