A man in his 60s, who posted in an apartment residents' group chat that "the reconstruction association chairman is a psychopath," has been fined 1 million won for defamation, as reported on the 1st after both the first and appeals trials.
Mr. A, a member of the owner council of the Eunma Apartment in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was reported by the reconstruction association chairman Mr. B in September 2022. The issue arose from Mr. A having posted eight times in the residents' group chat that "Mr. B is a psychopath, a sociopath," and that "Mr. B has mental illness."
When Mr. A was indicted on charges of defamation, he argued in court that "what I wrote is a reasonable criticism of a public figure, and therefore defamation does not apply." He claimed that criticism of a public figure is widely permitted and does not lead to legal repercussions.
In response, the first trial court stated, "Psychopath is a type of disorder that is diagnosed as 'antisocial personality disorder' in psychiatry, and calling a specific individual a psychopath can significantly lower that person's social evaluation and make daily life difficult, regardless of whether or not he is actually a psychopath." Consequently, it ruled that "the content Mr. A posted constitutes a defamation that infringes Mr. B's external reputation," imposing a fine of 1 million won.
The Seoul Central District Court's 1st-2nd Criminal Appeals Division, which handled the appeals trial, also imposed a fine of 1 million won on Mr. A on the 26th of last month. The court noted, "Mr. A repeatedly posted writings in a group chat viewed by several residents that could damage Mr. B's reputation," and added, "This is closer to groundless accusation rather than legitimate criticism, and it is not protected by freedom of expression."
The Eunma Apartment was completed in 1979, consisting of 28 buildings with 4,424 units, and reconstruction has been pursued since 1996.