"Revealing the Identity of the Threatener"... Excessive 'Private Sanctions' Are Not Allowed

"Direct Judgment Instead of Law" Spreads on SNS
Mistrust in Investigation Procedures
Frequent Personal Information Disclosure on YouTube, etc., in the Name of 'Justice Implementation'
Clearly Violates Current Law
Concerns Over Unrelated Victims Arising

Recently, cases of 'private sanctions' involving the disclosure of criminal suspects' personal information have been frequently occurring on YouTube and online communities.

Claiming to act as enforcers of so-called 'justice,' they take on the role of problem solvers, but this is clearly illegal and raises concerns as innocent victims unrelated to the incidents may suffer. There are also criticisms that private sanctions are turning into commercially driven content.

YouTube·SNS... Channels for Spreading Affairs and Suspects' Personal Information

On December 30 last year, a YouTuber disclosed the personal information along with three photos of a woman in her 20s, Ms. A, on their channel. The woman was arrested by the police on December 28 on charges of extorting 50 million won from actor Lee Seon-gyun, who had died while under investigation for drug use. The YouTuber stated they were waiting for tips from people who had suffered fraud or threats from Ms. A.

The response was intense. As of the 3rd, posts related to Ms. A had 3,900 comments and 45,000 likes. Ms. A’s personal information quickly spread across online communities and social media. On one online community, a post containing Ms. A’s face and name recorded 300,000 views.

Short-form content also became a channel for spreading posts with the nature of private sanctions. Some YouTubers reprocessed information posted online into short videos about one minute long, creating a vicious cycle of spreading information. A YouTube short-form video containing Ms. A’s personal information also recorded 1.39 million views as of the 3rd.

Personal affairs between individuals have also become targets of private sanctions. In November last year, a man who was about to have a formal meeting with his fianc?e posted online that he had witnessed Ms. B’s infidelity. Subsequently, photos of the woman and her family, along with their social media account information, rapidly spread online. Eventually, Ms. B’s family closed their social media accounts due to malicious comments.

Disclosing personal information without following legal procedures is clearly illegal. Under the current Information and Communications Network Act, anyone who publicly reveals facts on an information and communications network with the intent to defame a person can be sentenced to up to three years in prison or fined up to 30 million won. If false information is posted, the punishment is more severe, with up to seven years in prison, suspension of qualifications for up to ten years, or a fine of up to 50 million won.

There have also been cases where victims suffered due to the spread of false information. In September last year, after an elementary school teacher in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, died following harassment from malicious parents, some self-employed business owners’ shops were mistakenly identified as those of the offending parents, causing damage.

At that time, a netizen who claimed to be the nephew of a galbi restaurant owner in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, posted a plea on an online community to stop the witch hunt. The netizen said, "My uncle was shocked and hurt as insults including 'murderer' and star-rating attacks continued," and even attached a family relation certificate proving that the galbi restaurant owner was unrelated to the offending parents along with the business registration.

"Distrust in Investigative Agencies... Cause of Private Sanctions"

Experts explain that distrust in investigative agencies is behind the rampant private sanctions. The public does not trust the investigative procedures of these agencies, and there is a significant gap between public sentiment and actual court rulings.

In fact, a survey conducted by SK Communications in October last year targeting 7,745 adults found that 49% (3,856 respondents) believed private sanctions were appropriate. Additionally, 44% of respondents said they only accepted private sanctions in cases of violent crimes.

[Image source=Getty Images Bank]

Professor Lee Yun-ho, emeritus professor of the Department of Police Administration at Dongguk University, said, "While vanity may be a factor, the main cause appears to be the expression of dissatisfaction with our criminal justice system," adding, "Korea’s judicial system emphasizes protecting the constitutional rights of suspects rather than the rights of victims, which causes public dissatisfaction." He further suggested, "The judicial system should shift from focusing on punishing offenders to protecting victims."

Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of the Department of Police Science at Konkuk University said, "People believe that the truth of cases is not being uncovered and appropriate punishment is not being carried out," adding, "If private sanctions become widespread, distrust will permeate society, leading to side effects where the public loses trust in other policies as well."

There are also opinions that caution is needed regarding the commercialization of private sanctions. Professor Yoo Hyun-jae of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Sogang University pointed out, "For some YouTubers, private sanctions are essentially a business model," adding, "There is no entity to verify the authenticity of the information they present, and if the information is false, the spread of harm is a concern."

Professor Yoo emphasized, "Disclosing suspects’ personal information violates the presumption of innocence," and added, "Not only should the Broadcasting and Communications Review Committee increase the severity of sanctions, but a legal basis should also be established to delete or block illegal content."

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