A Woman in Her 50s Who Posted 'Doctor Clumsy Hands' Complaints About Plastic Surgery... Court Rules It as Defamation

Law: "There could have been other ways to express dissatisfaction with the hospital"

A man in his 50s who called the doctor responsible for his plastic surgery procedure "ddongson" (clumsy hands) on an online community was sentenced to a fine with a suspended sentence.

The Ulsan District Court Criminal Division 8 (Presiding Judge Kim Jeong-jin) announced on the 22nd that Mr. A, who was tried on charges of defamation, was sentenced to a fine of 1 million KRW with a one-year suspended sentence.

In 2022, Mr. A posted complaints about the doctor who performed his facial plastic surgery on several online communities. He also commented on his own post, saying, "I wonder how someone with such ddongson can be a plastic surgeon." Community members who saw this post requested information about the hospital, and Mr. A provided the hospital and doctor's real name via messenger.

During the trial, Mr. A claimed that the post was intended only to share information about the hospital's poor post-procedure management and that there was no intent to insult. He also argued that the expression was within socially acceptable norms.

However, the court ruled that Mr. A’s posts criticizing the hospital on various online communities and blogs, revealing the doctor's real name, and calling him "ddongson" to imply incompetence constituted defamatory expressions that lowered the doctor's social evaluation.

The court stated, "Even if there are mitigating circumstances regarding the defendant's motive, there are other ways to express dissatisfaction with the hospital, so this cannot be considered a justifiable act."