Malicious Fake News... Why Are Divorce Rumors About Kim Yuna and Director Rumors About Yoo Jae-suk Spreading?

Rumors Spreading Like Wildfire... Victims Suffer Pain
"Should Punish Exactly for Truth or False Statements"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Recently, malicious fake news about celebrities has become a controversial issue.

Rumors mainly spread through social networking services (SNS), especially YouTube, gain views and are re-disseminated with provocative thumbnails and titles despite unclear sources. The damage caused by absurd fake news falls entirely on the individuals involved, leaving them with irreparable pain.

Recently, a divorce rumor about former figure skater Kim Yuna and her husband, singer Go Woolim, spread through YouTube. The video claimed that the couple, who married earlier this year, were getting a consensual divorce and even explained the specific circumstances leading to their divorce.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The video thumbnail contained provocative phrases such as 'affair' and 'paternity lawsuit.' The comment section was closed to users. The video appeared to cite reports from a major domestic media outlet, but in reality, the media had never reported such content. Despite being fake news without a reliable source, the video has reached 45,000 views.

Comedian Yoo Jae-seok also recently became the target of malicious rumors. The rumor claimed that Yoo Jae-seok moved to a luxury villa in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul?a representative school district?to educate his son and handed out rice cakes to residents. This post spread across various online communities and became a hot topic.

However, this was not true. Yoo Jae-seok appeared on the MBC variety show he hosts, 'How Do You Play?', and firmly denied the rumor. He explained, "I heard from some community that I moved. I wanted to correct this because I was worried it might cause trouble for the residents there. But wouldn't it be strange to issue a press release about it?"

MBC Variety Show 'Hangout with Yoo' Capture

Producing and distributing fake news can be punished by imprisonment or fines under the Information and Communications Network Act. Article 70, Paragraph 2 of the Act states that "Anyone who publicly spreads false facts through information and communications networks with the intent to defame another person shall be punished by imprisonment for up to seven years, suspension of qualifications for up to ten years, or a fine of up to 50 million won."

However, experts point out that to effectively prevent the spread of fake news, it is necessary to relax the criteria for establishing related offenses. Perpetrators often deny having the intent to defame or claim they believed the disseminated content was true, and such claims are sometimes accepted in court.

Seung Jaehyun, a research fellow at the Korea Institute of Criminal Justice Policy, said, "The element of 'intent to defame' should be removed from the offense requirements, and punishment should be applied if there is a statement of fact or false fact. Even if the distributor claims they 'believed it was true,' if there is no strict and justifiable reason for that belief, punishment is appropriate."

Seung also added, "In civil lawsuits, it is necessary to recognize compensation for damages and consolation money at a high level, equivalent to punitive damages."