Wife Posts 'Husband-Other Woman' Texts on SNS... Fined for Defamation

'Mother of Two Claims Rape'
"Uses Highly Contagious SNS"...100 Million Won Fine

A wife who posted text messages exchanged between her husband and his mistress on social networking services (SNS) was fined for defamation against the mistress.

Captured Text Messages Between Husband and Mistress Posted on SNS

According to the legal community on the 17th, the Incheon District Court Bucheon Branch Criminal Division 7 (Judge Seo Min-ah) sentenced Ms. A, who was tried for defamation, to a fine of 1 million KRW.

In August of last year, Ms. A posted screenshots of text conversations exchanged between her husband and mistress Ms. B on her SNS. The messages included them referring to each other as "honey" and Ms. A’s husband admitting to the extramarital affair.

Ms. A referred to mistress Ms. B as “a mother of two children” and posted comments such as “crazy XXs,” “dating my close friend’s wife for 1 year and 6 months, I want to support them because it’s touching,” and “disgusting.” She posted the conversation a total of nine times in this manner.

Additionally, when the affair was exposed, Ms. A criticized Ms. B, who claimed she was raped by Ms. A’s husband, saying, “She claims rape to get out. How pathetic,” and denied Ms. B’s rape allegation on SNS as well.

The investigative agency judged that Ms. A damaged Ms. B’s reputation by exposing the affair to an unspecified large number of people and referred the case to trial.

The court pointed out, “Because SNS, which has extremely high transmissibility to an unspecified large number of people, was used, Ms. A’s responsibility cannot be considered light, and Ms. A did not reach a settlement with the victim.”

However, the court also stated, “Ms. A admitted to the crime and appears to have suffered significant mental shock and pain due to the extramarital relationship between her spouse and the victim,” and “there are mitigating factors regarding the motive and circumstances leading to the crime.”

Be Cautious with Mistress Lawsuits... Defamation and Stalking Counterclaims Possible

In fact, it is common to be counter-sued for defamation in lawsuits involving mistresses. Legal experts warn that acts such as confronting the mistress in person or humiliating her via SNS, as often depicted in dramas, can lead to negative consequences such as assault, defamation, or even stalking charges.

Especially, defamation through online platforms like SNS has a wide reach and can be punished more severely under the Information and Communications Network Act than under criminal law. According to this Act, anyone who publicly states facts to defame another person with the intent to slander may face imprisonment for up to three years, detention, or a fine of up to 20 million KRW.