Converging Approaches to Defamation Law in the United States and South Korea
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v13i3.6980Keywords:
Defamation, First Amendment Rights, Freedom of SpeechAbstract
One’s personal reputation affects almost every aspect of one’s life, including social relationships, employment opportunities, and business outcomes. The internet has made a person’s reputation vulnerable to attacks from many more sources than ever before, and this has resulted in a surge of defamation cases. This article compares approaches to defamation law in the United States and South Korea to highlight the convergences and divergences of law and legal culture in each country. It concludes that, although there are substantial differences between the two nations’ treatment of defamation laws, South Korea is trending toward assimilating the legal standards regarding Freedom of Speech that protect defendants of defamation cases in the United States.
Downloads
References or Bibliography
Do4757 (Supreme Court of Korea February 25, 2000). https://casenote.kr/%ED%97%8C%EB%B2%95%EC%9E%AC%ED%8C%90%EC%86%8C/2017%ED%97%8C%EB%A7%881113
Do17237 (Supreme Court of Korea September 2, 2011). https://casenote.kr/%EB%8C%80%EB%B2%95%EC%9B%90/2010%EB%8F%8417237
Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, Pub. L. No. 14080 (2016). https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?hseq=38422&lang=ENG
Ardia, D. S. (2010). Reputation in a Networked World: Revisiting the Social Foundations of Defamation Law. Harvard Civil Rights Law Review, 45, 261–328.
Ardia, D. S. (2013). Freedom of Speech, Defamation, and Injunctions. William & Mary Law Review, 55(1), 1–84.
Byung-chan, K. (2022, February 7). Deaths of 2 young public figures spark calls for tougher anti-cyberbullying measures [News]. Hanyoreh. https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1030072
Cho, K. (2013). Defamation and Freedom of Expression De-Criminalization of Defamation and Insult against Public
Officials and Figures Regarding Public Issues. Korean Journal of Criminology, 25(3), 9–46.
Chung, J. S., Gahng, T. Y., & Kim, H. K. (2015). A study on the Korean courts’ standards for defamation and insults: Focused on defamation and insults decisions during the last ten years (2005-2015)(Research Series 15-AB-07)[On-Line]. Seoul: Korean Institute of Criminology. Retrieved 2/20/21 from https://www.kic.re.kr/pubdata/public/Read. jsp.
Ga-young, L. (2019, October 15). From Choi Jin-sil to Sulli... Attack of Malicious Comments That Does Not Stop Even after Leaving | JoongAng Ilbo. The JoonAng. https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/23604545#home
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (U.S. Supreme Court June 25, 1974). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/418/323/
Hyun-su, Y. (2020, February 20). Why Naver is finally shutting down comments on celebrity news [News]. The
Korea Herald. https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200220000937
Min-je, K., Gwang-joon, J., & Ji-min, S. (2019, October 17). Celebrity suicide spotlights symbiotic relationship between online slander and clickbait press. Hankyoreh. https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/913606
Na-young, K. (2022, February 8). Suicide deaths of volleyball player, YouTuber rekindle calls for tougher punishment against cyberbullying. Yonhap News Agency. https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220208006300315
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 39 (U.S. Supreme Court March 9, 1964). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/376/254/
Passaportis, M. (2004). A Law and Norms Critique of the Constitutional Law of Defamation. Virginia Law Review, 90(7), 1985. https://doi.org/10.2307/1515652
The Republic of Korea. Penal Code of 1953 (1953). Amended Dec. 29, 1995 https://www.loc.gov/item/2019670914/
Peters, J. W. (2022, March 1). Judge Says Sarah Palin ‘Failed to Prove Her Case’ Against The Times. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/business/media/sarah-palin-new-york-times-trial.html
The New York Times Company et al. v. L.B. Sullivan (Supreme Court of Alabama August 30, 1962). https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama/supreme-court/1962/144-so-2d-25-1.html
Weaver, R. L., & Partlett, D. F. (2006). Defamation, Free Speech, and Democratic Governance. New York Law School Law Review 50(1). https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1287&context=nyls_law_review
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2024 Haram Yoo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder(s) granted JSR a perpetual, non-exclusive license to distriute & display this article.
