"Do We Have to Accept This Too?"... How Long Will the 'End of Violence' Hate Comments Continue?

Online Discrimination and Hate Speech Persist
Public Opinion Grows for Stronger Punishment of Malicious Comments

Comedian Kim Young-hee appeared on KBS 2TV's entertainment program 'Okay? Okay!' on the 23rd and expressed her pain over malicious comments. Photo by 'Okay? Okay!' broadcast capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Malicious comments directed at celebrities continue to be a problem. Although public opinion strongly supports punishment for online violence, related legislation has yet to pass the National Assembly.

On the 23rd, comedian Kim Young-hee revealed malicious comments aimed at her on Instagram. One netizen left an outrageous comment saying to her, who is due to give birth next month, "I will make you have an abortion. Do you want to miscarry?"

Kim Young-hee also confessed on the KBS 2TV variety show 'Okay? Okay!' that day that she has been suffering from malicious comments. She said she has been in pain from a barrage of hateful comments from people following controversies in comedy programs several years ago. "I am not that kind of person, but I wanted the character to stand out more. I created that character because I wanted to work hard as a rookie, but it all became me," she said. "As I lived diligently, there were frequent mistakes and unintended incidents."

Broadcaster Kim Ki-soo also expressed anger on the 16th by sharing screenshots of comments posted by netizens. On his Instagram, he revealed a comment from a malicious commenter saying, "Mind your mother first. I think your mother is about to die." Kim Ki-soo criticized, "I accept everything, but do I have to accept this too?" and added, "People who liked this are creepy."

Following the consecutive deaths of celebrities such as the late singer Sulli (Choi Jin-ri) in 2019, public opinion has grown stronger on the need to address online violence and harassment. In March, a petition was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board demanding punishment for malicious commenters and YouTubers who criticized streamer Jammi (Jo Jang-mi), who made an extreme choice due to malicious comments, gaining 230,000 supporters. Jammi, who had suffered from malicious comments for a long time, had repeatedly expressed her pain, and it was revealed that her mother also suffered from depression due to malicious comments about her daughter and made an extreme choice.

In response, the so-called 'Sulli Act,' an anti-malicious comment law, was proposed but was ultimately discarded as all bills expired with the end of the 20th National Assembly's term. In the 21st National Assembly, Park Dae-chul of the People Power Party proposed an amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act focusing on the introduction of an internet semi-real-name system. Jeon Yong-gi of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed a partial amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act to strengthen punishment for discriminatory and hateful expressions online.

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