President Lee Jae-myung ordered a review of abolishing the Criminal Act offense of defamation by stating facts, and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is also picking up speed with a goal of passing legislation within the year.
According to the political circle on the 12th, the Democratic Party is pushing to abolish or ease defamation by stating facts by revising not only the Criminal Act but also the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection together. In parallel with the fake news eradication bill (amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection) being pursued by the party's special committee on media reform, the idea is to ease the criminal liability of journalists and whistleblowers while requiring media outlets or YouTubers who spread false or manipulated information to pay up to five times the damages.
Han Jeong-ae, the Democratic Party's policy committee chair, told ChosunBiz that the Criminal Act amendment related to abolishing defamation by stating facts has already been introduced, and the amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection is also being prepared, adding, I don't think there is any reason it can't be done within the year.
Article 307, paragraph 1 of the current Criminal Act stipulates that even if one reveals true facts, a person may be punished (imprisonment or imprisonment without labor for up to two years, or a fine of up to 5 million won) if another's reputation is damaged. Article 310 of the Criminal Act states that stating facts for the public interest is not unlawful, but in actual trials it has not been easy for defendants to prove truthfulness and public interest. There has been steady criticism that defamation by stating facts has been used as a means to silence whistleblowers or public-interest informants. However, since the Criminal Act was enacted in 1953, it has not been revised even once for more than 70 years.
Germany and several other countries handle defamation by stating facts through civil damages rather than criminal punishment. The National Human Rights Commission in 2021 recommended abolition, saying that a majority of defamation cases involve stating facts and that there is a high possibility of infringing on freedom of expression.
There is also significant opposition that fact exposure can lead to doxxing or invasion of privacy. In Feb. 2021, the Constitutional Court ruled the offense of defamation by stating facts constitutional on the grounds of protecting an individual's personality rights. In the National Assembly, related bills have been introduced multiple times since the 19th term, but each time they were discarded upon the expiration of the term.
It was President Lee who fanned the debate over abolishing defamation by stating facts. After Lee directly ordered the Justice Ministry to review abolition at a Cabinet meeting the day before, the mood shifted in politics as well.
According to the National Assembly's bill information system, Democratic Party lawmakers Park Jumin and Kim Yong-min, among others, have already introduced a Criminal Act amendment centered on abolishing the offense of defamation by stating facts. The bill would delete the offense of defamation by stating facts entirely and convert defamation into an offense prosecutable only upon complaint as a crime requiring a complaint. Lawmakers Choi Ki-sang and Shin Jeong-hoon of the same party proposed an amendment limiting application of the defamation offense only to cases of stating significant facts about private life.
However, with the People Power Party opposing the move, a rocky path in subsequent National Assembly deliberations appears inevitable. The People Power Party says punishment for defamation by stating facts should instead be strengthened. Amendments to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection introduced separately by lawmakers Lee Jong-bae and Ko Dong-jin would raise the statutory penalties for defamation by stating facts from the current imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won to imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won and imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine of up to 200 million won.