The Democratic Party of Korea's special committee on media reform announced a plan to eradicate false and manipulated information that would require malicious distributors of illegal or fabricated content to pay up to five times the damages and impose a penalty surcharge of up to 1 billion won for malicious, repeated dissemination.
Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae announced the plan to eradicate false and manipulated information by the media reform special committee on the afternoon of the 20th at the party leader's conference room in the main building of the National Assembly. Jung said, "The social ills and public division caused by false and manipulated information are very serious," noting, "Going beyond political positions and differences in views, it foments regional antagonism, gender division, denigrates certain occupational groups, and incites hatred toward people with disabilities and seniors. Excessive false and manipulated information is rampant."
Jung explained, "The amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection announced today is intended to sanction posters who maliciously produce and repeatedly disseminate false and manipulated information for profit in order to serve their own interests, thereby preventing tangible and intangible damages such as defamation that many good citizens could suffer," adding, "Freedom of expression and freedom of the press will be expanded, but false and manipulated information that undermines national unity should be rooted out."
The Democratic Party's media reform special committee's plan to eradicate false and manipulated information announced that day includes a new general provision in the Information and Communications Network Act for damages related to illegal information and false and manipulated information. When proving the amount of damage is difficult, the court can recognize damages of up to 50 million won.
A punitive multiple-damages system will also be introduced. Excluding simple false information, in cases of illegal information or false and manipulated information, compensation will be allowed up to five times.
A penalty for malicious and repeated distribution of illegal and false manipulated information will also be introduced. If a court confirms that illegal information or false and manipulated information was distributed maliciously and repeatedly, a penalty surcharge of up to 1 billion won will be imposed. Damages, criminal punishment, or a corrective report ruling are prerequisites for imposing the penalty surcharge.
In addition, for defamation caused by false facts for the purpose of slander, confiscation will be allowed of criminal proceeds such as Super Chat revenue.