A man who posted details of a professor's sexual misconduct in his department's group chat and received a fine order from prosecutors on defamation charges was acquitted in a formal trial.
According to the legal community on the 21st, the Ninth Single Criminal Bench of the Cheonan Branch of the Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Park Hye-rim) acquitted Mr. A of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation).
The court cited a Supreme Court precedent as the basis for acquittal that "if the disclosed facts are for the public interest, the purpose of slander is negated."
Specifically, the court said, "It can be seen that Mr. A's post included a purpose of criticizing Professor B, but it also included a purpose of warning current students who might register for the class in the future," adding, "There is room to view the defendant's motive and purpose as serving the public interest."
In March last year, Mr. A posted details of Professor B's sexual misconduct on a year-by-year SNS composed only of enrolled students in a department at a university in Asan, South Chungcheong.
The post included claims that "Professor B gives A+ grades to female students he selects, summons them to his office or elsewhere to commit sexual harassment, or sends inappropriate messages via SNS."
In fact, from 2016 to 2022, Professor B repeatedly engaged in similar conduct with one to four female students each year, received a three-month suspension in Jul. 2023, and was removed from classes for the second semester that year.
The following year, in 2024, when Professor B returned to teaching, students pushed back, saying there had been no apology or measures to prevent a recurrence.
Mr. A, who had long discussed the issue with victimized students, posted details of Professor B's sexual misconduct in a group chat consisting only of enrolled students.
Mr. A received a summary fine order from prosecutors on defamation charges and, objecting to it, requested a formal trial.