A pastor who posted a blog criticizing college students engaged in polyamorous relationships was sentenced to a fine.
According to the legal community on the 1st, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Eom Sang-pil) dismissed the appeal of Pastor Seo Yohan, who was indicted for defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act, and upheld the original court ruling that sentenced Pastor Seo to a fine of 500,000 KRW.
The court stated, "Publishing facts belonging to the victim's intimate private sphere, who cannot be considered a widely known public figure, along with the victim's real name and photo, to an unspecified large number of people via the information network, severely infringes on the victim's personal rights. It can be recognized that the defendant wrote and posted the article with the purpose of defaming the victim by revealing the victim's sexual orientation, which is difficult to see as related to the public interest, thereby lowering the social evaluation of the victim who holds views different from those pursued by the defendant and a specific social group."
It continued, "There is no error in the original judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience or exceeds the limits of free evaluation of evidence, nor is there a misinterpretation of the legal principles concerning 'defamatory intent' and 'statement of fact' in the crime of defamation by information and communication methods that affected the judgment," explaining the reason for dismissing Pastor Seo's appeal.
Pastor Seo, who leads the Christian organization GMW Union, was tried on charges of defamation for posting on the organization's blog on January 17, 2018, an article titled "After reading the article by Hong Seung-eun, who lives a polyamorous life and was a speaker at Handong University," in which he posted the real name and photo of a Handong University student A, who also lives a polyamorous life like Hong, thereby damaging A's reputation.
Polyamory, a combination of 'Poly' meaning many and 'Amor' meaning love, refers to loving two or more people simultaneously with their consent, without being bound by institutions such as marriage. It is translated as non-exclusive multiple love or non-exclusive polyamorous relationships.
Hong, who has published related books, gave a lecture at a seminar hosted by the unregistered student organization 'Wildflower' at Handong University in December 2017.
In his article, Pastor Seo introduced Hong as the speaker of the lecture and posted a link to an article Hong contributed to Handong University's independent media 'Newdam.'
He wrote, "One of the people living a polyamorous life with her is student A of Handong University, who reacted strongly to the Handong University incident. I believe that any citizen with sound judgment can make a decision after reading this article."
Handong University, a Christian university, stirred controversy by initiating disciplinary procedures against student A for openly revealing that he lives a polyamorous life and for holding a feminism lecture on campus.
In the article, Pastor Seo pointed out, "Student A, who is Hong Seung-eun's polyamorous partner, stated in an interview with OhmyNews that he has no biblical reflection or repentance about his life, but rather only expresses resentment toward people around him, society, and the school who criticize him as 'sexually promiscuous' and 'living wrongly.'"
He added, "A is evading the essence of the matter. There are universal moral values in the world. Not all minority behaviors are protected. It is natural for rumors to spread about people living a lifestyle that is hard to see, hear, or find. Good things spread by rumor, but so do bad things. One should think about why their behavior is likely to become a rumor."
Pastor Seo also posted a link to an interview article with student A on OhmyNews (OhmyTV), where A's real name and interview photos were fully exposed.
The prosecutor indicted Pastor Seo on charges of defamation for publicly revealing that student A lives a polyamorous life with the intent to defame A.
The first trial court acquitted Pastor Seo.
The court stated, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, it is difficult to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that Pastor Seo had the intent to defame student A," and "The charges in this case correspond to a lack of proof of the crime."
As the basis for this judgment, the court cited ▲ the article was written not to expose that the victim lives a polyamorous life but rather to express the defendant's opinion that if one lives a minority life different from the universal and traditional Christian values, as the victim claimed in a previous media interview, rumors and criticism from the majority inevitably follow, and such rumors and criticism are caused by the victim's lifestyle ▲ at the time of writing the article, the victim's polyamorous lifestyle was a matter of considerable controversy and interest at Handong University and within the Christian community ▲ the victim had actively revealed living a polyamorous life, contributing to the formation of such controversy and interest ▲ considering the defendant's profession and career, the blog where the article was posted mainly targets readers interested in specific issues ▲ the article did not contain clear expressions of sexual derogation or contempt toward the victim.
However, the second trial court's judgment differed.
The second trial court found Pastor Seo guilty of defaming student A by posting the article with the intent to defame, overturned the first trial's verdict, and sentenced Pastor Seo to a fine of 500,000 KRW.
The court stated, "It is judged that the defendant defamed the victim by publicly revealing facts through the information network with the intent to defame, and the defendant's claim that the article was merely an expression of opinion or primarily motivated by public interest is not accepted."
The court pointed out ▲ although Hong's original article in Newdam revealed the victim's name and that he operated an independent media outlet at Handong University, only a few people could guess that student A was the victim, and the victim's face and real name were not disclosed ▲ the interview content between student A and OhmyTV criticized Handong University's response to Hong's lecture and did not reveal that A lives a polyamorous life ▲ nevertheless, Pastor Seo linked Hong's article and A's interview, disclosing A's real name, face, and the fact that he is a polyamorist (polyamorous person).
Regarding Pastor Seo's claim that student A proudly and openly revealed being a polyamorist, thus inviting the risk of defamation, the court said, "The only instance before the article was a Facebook post on January 4, 2018, where the victim revealed living a polyamorous life. The victim began lectures and other activities revealing being a polyamorist only after the article was posted. In the Facebook post, the victim used the expression 'outed' regarding polyamory and wrote that people who were expected to support him spoke ill behind his back."
It added, "Therefore, at the time the defendant posted the article, the victim had not publicly revealed his sexual orientation, nor was it a known fact. Rather, the victim perceived that polyamory was negatively received by society and did not want this fact to be known."
Additionally, the court noted that although student A was somewhat known within Handong University, he could not be considered a public figure, yet Pastor Seo posted the article on his blog accessible to an unspecified public unrelated to Christianity. The court also pointed out that although the article quoted A, it used expressions implying that A was 'sexually promiscuous' and 'living wrongly,' concluding, "Considering the context of the article and the circumstances, the defendant posted the article primarily with the motive or purpose of defaming the victim."
Regarding sentencing, the court stated, "This crime involved the defendant publicly revealing the victim's sexual orientation through the information network with the intent to defame, which is a serious offense. It appears the victim suffered mental distress, and the defendant has not been forgiven by the victim to date."
Pastor Seo appealed, but the Supreme Court also found no problem with the second trial's judgment.
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