Employee Posting 'Workplace Bullying' on SNS... Supreme Court Acquits of Defamation Charges

1st and 2nd Trials "Posting False Information" Fine... Supreme Court "Understood as Exaggerated Expression and Description"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The Supreme Court has ruled that the actions of a former employee who reported workplace harassment on social networking services (SNS) while presenting some facts differently do not constitute defamation.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Min Yoo-sook) overturned the lower court's ruling that sentenced former employee A of the content production company 'Celeb' to a fine of 1 million won on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation), and remanded the case to the Seoul Eastern District Court with a verdict of not guilty, the court announced on the 17th.

A was prosecuted for posting on social media (SNS) in 2018 that the then CEO of Celeb verbally abused employees and took them to entertainment establishments, constituting 'workplace power harassment.'

A also posted content such as "Even when not feeling well, we had to drink at least three bottles of soju before leaving. On some days, we had to go to a room salon as a group and female employees had to choose women to sit next to them."

The first and second trials found the posts to contain false information and ruled guilty. However, the second trial stated, "Even if some parts are somewhat exaggerated or differ from the truth, the important parts align with objective facts, and it is difficult to see the posts as written with the intent to defame the victim with false content." Nonetheless, it ruled that the forced drinking part was false and reduced the fine from 2 million won to 1 million won.

However, the Supreme Court judged that even the forced drinking content, which the second trial found guilty, was not guilty. The court stated, "The main point of the post is that 'the victim forced employees to drink a considerable amount of alcohol at company gatherings,' which is largely true," and added, "From the perspective of workers who attended the drinking party led by the company CEO victim, the somewhat exaggerated expressions or descriptions about the pressure they felt at the time can be understood."