Editing Defamation (section)

===South Korea===
In [[South Korea]], both true and false statements can be considered defamation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Back |first1=Sang Hyun |title=Problems with Korea's Defamation Law |url=http://keia.org/problems-korea%E2%80%99s-defamation-law |website=Korea Economic Institute of America|access-date=22 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922010456/http://keia.org/problems-korea%25E2%2580%2599s-defamation-law|archive-date=22 September 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> The penalties increase for false statements. It is also possible for a person to be criminally defamed when they are no longer alive.<ref name="wsj.com">{{cite news |last1=Park |first1=S. Nathan |title=Is South Korea's Criminal Defamation Law Hurting Democracy? |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-KRTB-7090 |access-date=14 January 2021 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=15 December 2014}}</ref>

Criminal defamation occurs when a public statement damages the subject's reputation, unless the statement was true and presented solely for the [[public interest]].<ref name="wsj.com"/> In addition to criminal law, which allows for imprisonment (up to seven years in case the allegations are false) and monetary fines, one can also sue for damages with civil actions. Generally, criminal actions proceed civil ones with South Korean police as judicial investigators.{{citation needed |date=September 2023}}

====Online====
{{further |South Korean cyber defamation law}}

In October 2008, the ''[[Korea JoongAng Daily]]'' published an article on online attacks against [[celebrity|celebrities]], and their potential connection to [[Suicide in South Korea|suicides in the country]]. Before the death of [[Choi Jin-sil]], there were rumours online of a significant loan to the actor [[Ahn Jae-hwan]], who killed himself earlier due to debts. [[U{{;}}Nee]] hanged herself, unable to deal with remarks about her physical appearance and surgery. [[Jeong Da-bin]] committed suicide while suffering from depression, later linked to personal attacks about her appearance. [[Na Hoon-a]] was falsely rumoured to have been castrated by the ''[[yakuza]]''. [[Byun Jung-soo]] was falsely reported to have died in a car accident. A professor of [[information science|information]] and [[social studies]] from the [[Soongsil University]], warned how rumours around celebrities can impact their lives, in unexpected and serious ways.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2008/10/03/socialAffairs/Celebrities-driven-over-the-edge-by-online-rumors/2895629.html |title=Celebrities driven over the edge by online rumors |author=Lee Hyun-taek |author2=Park Sun-young |date=3 October 2008 |website=[[Korea JoongAng Daily]] |access-date=12 August 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831043147/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2008/10/03/socialAffairs/Celebrities-driven-over-the-edge-by-online-rumors/2895629.html |archive-date=31 August 2023}}</ref>

In January 2009, according to an article in ''[[The Korea Times]]'', a [[Seoul]] court approved the arrest of online financial commentator [[Minerva (Internet celebrity)|Minerva]], for spreading false information. According to the decision, Minerva's online comments affected national credibility negatively. Lawmakers from the ruling [[Grand National Party]] proposed a [[bill (law)|bill]], that would allow imprisonment up to three years for online defamation, and would authorize the police to investigate cyber defamation cases without prior [[complaint]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/08/113_37632.html |title=Parties Clash Over Freedom Of Expression |author=Kang Hyun-kyung |date=11 January 2009 |website=[[The Korea Times]] |access-date=12 August 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831041007/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/08/113_37632.html |archive-date=31 August 2023}}</ref>

In September 2015, according to an article in ''[[Hankook Ilbo]]'', submitted complaints for insults during online games were increasing. Complainants aimed for [[settlement (litigation)|settlement money]], wasting the investigative capacity of police departments. One person could end up suing 50 others, or more. This led to the emergence of settlement-money hunters, provoking others to insult them, and then demanding compensation. According to statistics from the Cyber Security Bureau of the [[National Police Agency (South Korea)|National Police Agency]], the number of cyber defamation and insult reports was 5,712 in 2010, 8,880 in 2014, and at least 8,488 in 2015. More than half of the complaints for cyber insults were game-related (the article mentions ''[[League of Legends]]'' specifically). Most of the accused were teenagers. Parents often paid settlement fees, ranging from 300,000 to 2,000,000 [[South Korean won]] (US$300{{ndash}}2000 as of 2015), to save their children from getting [[criminal record]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201509100455164359 |author=정준호 |date=10 September 2015 |website=[[Hankook Ilbo]] |language=ko |script-title=ko:욕설 넘치는 온라인게임 '롤' ... 모욕죄 고소 난무 |trans-title=An online game full of swear words, 'Roll' ... accusation of insult |access-date=16 August 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831043855/https://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201509100455164359 |archive-date=31 August 2023}}</ref>