YouTuber with 110,000 Subscribers Sentenced for Spreading False Claims of "Minsik's Parents Involved in School Violence and Affair"

The parents of the late Kim Min-sik, who died in a traffic accident in a school zone
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] A YouTuber who defamed the parents of the late Kim Minsik, who died in a traffic accident in a child protection zone in Asan, Chungnam, in September 2019, has been sentenced to prison.

Today (15th), the Criminal Division 13 of Uijeongbu District Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Seonggyun) announced that it sentenced Mr. A, the operator of a research company, to two years in prison and ordered his detention in court on charges of violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection and defamation. Mr. A was charged with repeatedly insulting and defaming the parents of Kim by expressing dissatisfaction with the so-called 'Minsik Law' (the law for enhanced punishment of traffic accident offenders in child protection zones).

On May 11 last year, Mr. A spread false claims through his YouTube channel from his residence in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, such as "Kim’s parents caused a disturbance in the Asan Police Chief’s office" and "Kim’s mother is a school violence perpetrator." He was also charged with spreading false information from his home on March 23 last year, including statements like "Sewol ferry orgy, adultery, and jealousy?Is this Animal Kingdom?"

The court stated, "The defendant used a YouTube broadcast with very high transmissibility and influence to insult and repeatedly state false facts that defamed not only the parents of the child victim who died in the child protection zone traffic accident that triggered the enactment of the so-called Minsik Law but also the Sewol ferry bereaved families and other YouTubers." It added, "The defendant’s channel has about 110,000 subscribers, and the videos have been viewed over 100,000 times at maximum," noting, "The damage is severe as the victims’ real names and photos were directly disclosed."

The court further said, "Even while being prosecuted and on trial, the defendant committed additional crimes through YouTube broadcasts instead of refraining," and "He seriously lacks a sense of lawfulness, sharing his trial schedule on YouTube," and "Considering the documents submitted during the trial, it is doubtful whether he truly reflects on his wrongdoing."

It continued, "The defendant made no effort to restore the victims and has not been forgiven," and ruled, "While the defendant may have the freedom to insult the victims or state false facts through YouTube broadcasts, this freedom comes with severe legal responsibility, which must be made clear through the prison sentence and detention in court."