Unmarried Mother Holds Solo Protest Three Times
Court Imposes Fine for "Defamation and Insult"
A single mother in her 40s who held a solo protest holding a photo of her child's father’s face, claiming he did not pay child support on time, was convicted of defamation.
A single mother in her 40s who held a solo protest holding a photo of the child's father, claiming he did not pay child support on time, was convicted of defamation. [Photo by Getty Images]
On the 27th, Judge Kim Ji-young of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 8 announced that she sentenced a woman in her 40s, identified as A, to a fine of 3 million won on charges of defamation and insult.
A was indicted for defaming her ex-boyfriend B in January to February 2021 on the streets of Ganghwa-gun, Incheon. A held a sign that read, "Pay child support. Unpaid child support 18.2 million won," along with a photo of B’s face, and conducted three solo protests.
A also posted similar content on an internet site and was charged with posting insulting comments about B’s wife. It is known that A dated B for over three years and had a daughter with him but did not receive child support for some time.
In court, A claimed, "This was an act to receive child support, so there was no intent to defame or slander," and argued that "the comments related to B’s wife do not violate social norms."
However, the court ruled that the phrases written on the sign lowered B’s social reputation and constituted defamation. The court stated, "The defendant even revealed B’s face near B’s home," adding, "B is not a public figure, and it is difficult to consider his failure to pay child support as a matter of public interest."
Furthermore, the court explained, "There was intent and purpose to defame. The comments related to B’s wife, considering the context, are also contemptuous expressions."
Meanwhile, as cases of single parents bearing the full burden of child support have increased, an internet site called 'Bad Fathers' was launched in 2018 to publicly disclose the identities of child support defaulters.
The operator of this site was also indicted on defamation charges under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. In the first trial in 2020, the operator was acquitted, but in the following year’s appeal trial, a suspended sentence with a fine of 1 million won was handed down.
Accordingly, with the enforcement of the revised Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee and Support of Child Support in July 2021, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has been publicly disclosing six pieces of personal information about child support defaulters?excluding their photos?including name, date of birth, occupation, and workplace.
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