As the reader may already know, the crime of defamation is covered by Article 307 to 312 of the Criminal Code, which states that criminal defamation may be punished with up to 7 years in prison or up to 15 million won in fines. There was a case in which the prosecution sought a prison sentence for Ryu Si-min after being put on trial on such charges. Let us do a deep dive on this case, and get the whole story of what happened, how the current Korean defamation laws work, and how that is problematic. .................................................................Ed
The Channel A Incident, and Its Aftermath
On March 30th, 2020, MBC Newsdesk broadcast an exclusive story, one that would shake the Korean political landscape for the months to come. One Lee Dong-jae, a journalist who worked for Channel A, had been caught trying to attempt to coerce Lee Chul, one of the most notorious white-collar criminals in recent memory who defrauded nearly 1 trillion KRW from his investors, to falsely accuse Ryu Si-min, a prominent political pundit, as well as members of the ruling Democratic party of corruption.
He claimed that he had a “special relationship” with Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, a close associate of the then head of the Prosecutor’s Office Yoon Suk-yeol, to do so. This fact politically supercharged his case, as one of the main goals of the current administration was to conduct reforms on the Prosecutor’s Office, which had often been accused of being in bed with the wealthy and powerful, chief among them chaebols. Despite this, and a myriad of other incidents during the trial, including destruction of evidence by Lee and his former employer Channel A, it was ultimately ruled that although Lee had certainly breached journalistic ethics, there was not enough submitted evidence to find Lee guilty of coercion.
However, during the investigation into Han’s involvement in the matter, it was found that Han had corresponded with Lee over 300 times over a period of 2 months. The contents of the correspondence were encrypted in his cell phone, and Han refused to give the prosecution his password. And after a fruitless 22-month investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office dropped his case, days before the now President-elect and Han’s former co-worker, Yoon Suk-yeol, took office.
The very next day, the Prosecutor’s Office asked for 1 year imprisonment for Ryu si-min, in his ongoing case for criminal defamation against Han. The Prosecutor’s Office alleged that Han’s career was greatly damaged by Ryu’s “reckless remarks.” Then comes a question. Who is Ryu Simin, and how could he have damaged Han’s career?
Who Is Ryu Si-min, and What Is His Alleged Crime?
Ryu Si-min is a bestselling author and political commentator, but he had been a pro-democracy student activist when he was a student at Seoul National University, and he was even incarcerated and tortured by the military dictatorship in the 80s. He then became a politician, successfully being elected to the Congress twice and becoming one of the closest advisers of President Roh Moo-hyun, but he retired from politics in 2014. The damning statement that got the now-political commentator Ryu in hot waters is his statement that he believed “the Prosecutor’s Office seems to have audited the Roh Moohyun Foundation’s bank accounts, and likely his personal accounts as well.” According to the Prosecutor’s Office, this statement had greatly damaged Han’s career.
However, it was discovered that the Prosecutor’s Office had in fact done so, as the bank that held the accounts later confirmed. In short, Ryu had been criminally charged for defamation for a true statement. How could this be possible?
Criminal Defamation in Korea, and Its Consequences
It is because Korea’s defamation laws do not require the perpetrator’s statement to be deliberately false for the perpetrator to be found criminally liable. A deliberately false statement merely increases the maximum penalty from 3 years incarceration to 7 years. Not only that, but both civil and criminal defamation cases require the defendant to prove that their statement is primarily for public good, not personal interest. This throws the presumption of innocence out the window, the only criminal offense in Korean law to do so. Criminal defamation has been widely condemned by many human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch for its potential to be abused by the powerful to be used in silencing of critics and harassment of victims who seek justice.
And indeed, it is not merely used against political figures like Ryu, but against anyone who speaks out against the wealthy and the powerful, including victims of sexual violence and racial profiling. During the Korean #MeToo movement, women voiced their fears and their experience with defamation lawsuits. Even if victims are found innocent of defamation, the cases take years to resolve, and cost money as well. The combination of mental and financial stress convince many to give up seeking justice.
Criminal defamation cases are not rare either. According to the Korean Institute of Criminology, thousands have been reported to the police each year for criminal defamation, and in 2016, 17,580 cases have been reported to the police, as well as a staggering 2,086 cases being prosecuted. As you can see in the graph below, the cases have only skyrocketed until 2016, when Park Geun-hye was ousted from presidency.
Park’s administration was both domestically and globally criticized for their use of criminal defamation to avoid and silence critics. An example of this would be the case levied against six staffers of the newspaper Segye Ilbo for reporting on a leaked document from the Park administration. Ryu’s case has a worrying similarity to the tactics of the disgraced Park administration; a private citizen being prosecuted for defamation for allegedly defaming someone so close to the powers that be is something that must be seen with scrutiny. Freedom of expression is something that must be protected, and steps toward decriminalization of defamation should be taken.
Min Jeong-ung (ST Cub-Reporter)
redreboot@soongsil.ac.kr
