“There was a safety accident, but the attitude was inappropriate”… Employee accused of criticizing manager cleared of charges

After a safety accident occurred, an office worker who was sued for insult and defamation after claiming that “managers showed inappropriate behavior in the chat room” of an in-house group was cleared of the charges by the police. This is because the police judged that the article had a public purpose and the level of criticism was mild.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Asan Police Station in South Chungcheong Province decided not to forward Mr. A, who was booked on charges of insult and defamation in March.

Mr. A was accused of posting a post defaming managers in the company's business group chat room in September of last year. At the time, Mr. A claimed through the article that some managers showed inappropriate attitudes, such as laughing and talking, even though a fatal accident occurred within the company.

Mr. A acknowledged that he wrote the article, but explained that it was not for the purpose of slander. Mr. A claimed that he wrote the article to raise an issue because he thought the safety insensitivity at the site was serious.

The police decided not to forward the case, finding that there were no charges of insult or defamation. In relation to the charge of insult, the police determined that even if mild profanity or abstract expressions were used while expressing negative or critical opinions or feelings about the other person, it could not be considered an expression that could infringe on external reputation unless there were special circumstances.

In relation to defamation, as long as Mr. A claims that he heard about the actions of the managers and truly believed them, and that he intended to inform the employees, it cannot be ruled out that there was a public purpose, so it was considered illegal.

Attorney Kim Hyun-soo of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "In order to constitute a crime of defamation and insult, an intentional purpose of slander and expressions that can lower social evaluation are necessary. The post was intended to point out chronic insensitivity to safety, the main purpose was public interest, and the expression was also mild, so we were able to get a decision not to forward the case."

Reporter Jeong Cheol-wook

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“A safety accident occurred, but the attitude was inappropriate”… Employee accused of criticizing manager cleared of charges (link)