"If Malicious Comments Drive Victims to Extreme Choices, Up to 10 Years Imprisonment"

Assemblyman Jeon Yong-gi Proposes Partial Amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act
Introducing Online Defamation Crime and Criminal Penalties Similar to Assisted Suicide Crime

Jeon Yong-gi Congressman

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] In the wake of the recent death of female professional volleyball player Go Yu-min, calls have been raised to address the harm caused by malicious comments in the sports sector. A bill has been proposed that punishes perpetrators with up to 10 years in prison if they insult a specific individual online and cause the victim to take extreme measures.

On the 9th, Jeon Yong-gi, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, announced the proposal of a partial amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act that includes such provisions.

The amendment establishes a new crime under current law for insults such as hateful or discriminatory expressions online, and stipulates that those who cause a victim to commit or resolve to commit suicide will be punished with imprisonment ranging from one to ten years, similar to the crime of aiding suicide under the Criminal Act.

Rep. Jeon stated, "Malicious comments that drive someone to take extreme measures are tantamount to aiding suicide," adding, "Freedom comes with responsibility, and this issue should be severely punished at the same level as aiding suicide under the Criminal Act."

SNS post by IOC athlete committee member Yoo Seung-min requesting the enactment of a bill to abolish comments / Screenshot of athlete committee member Yoo Seung-min's Facebook page

Earlier, Yoo Seung-min, an athlete member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), appealed to the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee members on his social network service (SNS) on the 4th, saying, "Personality-defaming criticism beyond simple advice, baseless rumor-mongering against specific individuals, and similar acts have a fatal impact on athletes," and urged, "Please enact a law banning malicious comments on sports athletes and sports news, similar to the ban on comments on entertainment news." In response, Rep. Jeon decided to pursue legislation.

While preparing the bill, Rep. Jeon met with Naver officials to discuss this issue and called for solutions to malicious comments in sports. On the 7th, Naver announced measures including the temporary suspension of comments on Naver Sports news. On the same day, Kakao also announced plans to temporarily suspend sports comments.

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