The Supreme Court ruled that if, during a conversation, the other party first used informal speech and the speaker responded with insults such as "you little X" and "you XX," the remarks cannot be punished as criminal insult when the circumstances are taken into account.
The Supreme Court's First Division (presiding Justice Chun Dae-yup) said on the 18th that on the 8th it overturned the lower court ruling that had found A guilty of insult and suspended the sentence, and remanded the case to the Incheon District Court with a view to acquittal.
At about 6:51 p.m. on June 27, 2022, in a meeting room at a life and culture center inside an apartment complex in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, with other residents watching, A hurled insults at B, saying, "Hey, hey, are we friends? Where do you get off being so cocky, you little X, you XX," and the like.
Prosecutors indicted A for the crime of insult under the Criminal Act. The Criminal Act provides that a person who insults another shall be punished by imprisonment or imprisonment without labor for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than 2 million won.
In the first trial, the court suspended the sentence for A. The first trial court said, "The facts charged are acknowledged," but added, "There are reasons to consider the circumstances leading to the remarks, and the degree of insult is minor." A appealed, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal.
The Supreme Court quashed and remanded the case, saying the lower court misunderstood the legal principles regarding the meaning of insult under the Criminal Act. The court first noted, "Whether an expression constitutes an insult under the crime of insult should not be judged by whether the listener feels offended, but must be strictly assessed in light of the parties' relationship, the circumstances leading to the expression, the manner of expression, the situation at the time, and the like."
The Supreme Court went on to say that, considering the relationship between A and B and the circumstances that led to the remarks, "(A's) remarks merely expressed, somewhat roughly, discomfort with the victim's (B's) use of informal speech," and "do not appear to constitute an act of insult that would lower society's evaluation of the victim's personal worth."