Supreme Court: Navy Not Liable for Compensation Over Deletion of Posts Opposing Jeju Naval Base

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Court has ruled that the Navy's deletion of posts criticizing policies on its website due to alleged political bias was a "justifiable decision."

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kwon Soon-il) overturned the lower court's ruling that partially favored the plaintiffs?Park and two others?who filed a damages lawsuit against the state after their posts opposing the Jeju Naval Base were deleted from the Navy's website. The case was remanded to the Seoul Central District Court on the 4th.

The court stated, "Considering the political neutrality of the armed forces, it is undesirable for the Navy's website to become a platform for political disputes. Therefore, it is difficult to view the Navy Headquarters' deletion measures as unlawful acts lacking objective legitimacy."

Park posted on Twitter on June 9, 2011, during heated controversy over the construction of the Jeju Naval Base (Jeju Civil-Military Complex Tourist Port), suggesting leaving protest messages and requests to halt construction on the Navy's website.

The post was retweeted dozens of times, and on the same day, over 100 similar posts, including Park's, were uploaded to the Navy website's free bulletin board.

The Navy posted an official statement asserting that the posts by Park and others contained one-sided claims and criticisms that were not helpful either nationally or to Gangjeong Village in Jeju, and subsequently deleted about 100 related posts in bulk.

The Navy's internet website operation regulations allow deletion of posts that show political tendencies or baselessly criticize specific organizations or groups. Park and two other posters filed a lawsuit against the state in response.

The first trial dismissed the plaintiffs' claims, ruling no state liability, but the second trial ruled that "deleting posts solely because they resemble the positions of opposition parties or civic groups constitutes an infringement on freedom of expression and is unlawful," ordering the state to pay each plaintiff 300,000 won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.