"First lawsuit to proceed after Lunar New Year"
"Deleting now is useless... Data secured"
"Civil lawsuit to follow criminal punishment without settlement"
Writer So Jaewon, who publicly criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol, has announced legal action against malicious comments.
On the 22nd, So posted on his social networking service (SNS), saying, "There are insults that cannot be posted," and shared screenshots of abusive messages received via DM (direct message). He stated, "To be clear, the first lawsuit will proceed after the Lunar New Year. About 200 people will be investigated," adding, "Deleting them now is useless. My lawyer and I have thoroughly checked various news sites and communities." He continued, "Those who will be sued probably won't consider settlement anyway, so let's respond legally with confidence," emphasizing, "I have many precedents in threats and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act. Having filed several lawsuits myself, I have solid data. Let's do this properly once."
The next day, through an additional post, he said, "Those who have maliciously slandered me so far have been sued for defamation," adding, "I do not settle. Whenever criminal punishment is issued, I proceed to civil lawsuits to receive compensation. Although lawyer fees are higher, I consider it a 'financial treatment' and think of readers buying my works as supporting strict punishment." Furthermore, he warned, "I have said this before. Without settlement, I will proceed immediately with criminal punishment followed by civil lawsuits," and added, "An apology? Who said anyone would meet with you?"
Earlier, So had harshly criticized actor Choi Jun-yong, who participated in an anti-impeachment rally for President Yoon. On the 7th, So posted on SNS, "Was this person even an actor? Is someone who was forced to retire because of poor acting still an actor?" He criticized Choi, saying, "It's not that the acting is old-fashioned, but that he simply cannot act and therefore cannot appear in works. Why are articles being written about him as an actor?" He also said, "If you were forced to retire due to lack of skill, just live quietly. Don't tarnish the name of actors and embarrass real actors," adding, "While the majority of the people are criticizing the traitor, I fear that noble people enduring day by day might be collectively insulted because of fake actors like you. Acting is a profession that serves the public, not one that praises power."
Later, So revealed that he was subjected to a 'book return attack' by far-right forces. He explained, "When I criticized the traitor Yoon Suk-yeol, the number of returns of my works at bookstores reached an all-time high. This is the first time in my career as a writer that so many returns have occurred," adding, "The degree of damage to the returned books was severe. Even if not damaged, I judged resale to be deceptive to readers, so I asked the publisher to compensate for the loss and dispose of all returned books." He further elaborated, "The far-right was more malicious than expected. They did not buy my works at bookstores but purchased directly from the publisher," explaining, "If they bought at bookstores, the ranking would rise, and returns would be complicated, so they chose a publisher that is difficult to handle returns."
Meanwhile, So is known as the original author of the films Beastie Boys, Hope, Tunnel, Air Murder, and the drama Farewell Has Left.
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