Singer Lee Seung-hwan has filed a damages lawsuit of 50 million won against cartoonist Yoon Seo-in. He said Yoon used insulting language while mentioning his private life. Lee's side argues that Yoon's words went beyond criticism of a political opinion and amounted to a personal attack.
Haemaru, the law firm representing Lee Seung-hwan, said in a statement on the 8th that Lee filed a complaint for damages over insulting expressions against Yoon Seo-in with the Seoul Central District Court that day. The amount sought is 50 million won in consolation money.
The lawsuit began with a verified early-voting post that Lee Seung-hwan uploaded to social media (SNS) on the 29th. At the time, Lee wrote to the effect that he "wants a Seoul that is safe twelve months a year rather than a new landmark in Seoul that you might glance at a few times a year."
That same day, Yoon Seo-in shared Lee Seung-hwan's post on his own SNS and wrote, "A rabble-rouser life lost in political delusions, who couldn't even build a family for life, only to get divorced." He added, "He's sixty, and still going around saying strange things. It's sad."
Lee Seung-hwan's side argued in the statement that Yoon Seo-in's language was "an insulting and contemptuous personal attack that goes beyond the bounds of freedom of expression." They added, "It is a disparagement of private life unrelated to the overall context of the expression, and a contemptuous statement," and said, "It was posted in a manner visible to an unspecified number of people, so its illegality is grave."
Earlier, on the 5th, Lee Seung-hwan announced via SNS that he would pursue legal action against Yoon Seo-in. That same day, Yoon posted a message in the form of an apology on his SNS. In the post, he addressed each of the problematic expressions and laid out his position. Regarding the sentence "a rabble-rouser life lost in political delusions," he said, "I'm not sure whether this part is an insult or defamation by alleging facts, but in any case I'm sorry. I apologize."
Lee Seung-hwan's side views that post as an additional act of insult as well. Haemaru said, "Beyond this case, Mr. Yoon Seo-in has instances in the past where his expressions were found problematic and their illegality was adjudicated," adding, "In responding to Lee Seung-hwan's post announcing legal action against Mr. Yoon, he reposted insulting language disguised as an 'apology,' and these continuous acts before and after this insult are likely to be considered in calculating consolation money."
Haemaru explained that the purpose of this lawsuit is not to seek criminal punishment for Yoon Seo-in but to have the illegality of the insulting conduct confirmed. Haemaru said, "Mr. Lee Seung-hwan respects freedom of expression, but believes that indiscriminate and unlimited insults are shrinking the public sphere in our society," adding, "We filed this lawsuit to confirm that insulting conduct with a clear intent to disparage is 'illegal.'" They added, "In line with the purpose of the suit, we chose a civil action rather than pursuing punishment through a criminal complaint."