20s Woman Fined for Posting "XX-nyeon" Insult on SNS to Subordinate Out of Jealousy

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A woman in her 20s who was prosecuted for posting insulting remarks on social networking services (SNS) about a subordinate who dated a colleague she had feelings for was sentenced to a fine.

According to the legal community on the 29th, Judge Yoodonggyun of the Criminal Division 13 at the Seoul Central District Court sentenced A (28) to a fine of 5 million won for violating the Information and Communications Network Act and defamation. The court stated the sentencing reasons, saying, "The victim appears to have suffered considerable mental distress such as stress due to the crime and desires strict punishment for the defendant," but also considered "that the defendant is a first-time offender and acknowledges her wrongdoing."

A is accused of sending nine messages that induced fear or anxiety, such as "XX, do you want to become an MD? Brace yourself from today," in the SNS chat window of subordinate B in May last year. She is also charged with posting B’s SNS account or photos along with abusive language like "XX year" on her own SNS in the same month. Investigations revealed that A committed these crimes out of ill will after learning that B was secretly dating a colleague she had feelings for.