Imprisonment for Defamation | The Strategy by Which a Defamation Complaint over a Review Posted to a Community Was Concluded with Non-Prosecution

The client belonged to the operating committee of a club.

The club held regular monthly gatherings and shared activities such as drinking gatherings, commemorative photo shoots, and outings.

To facilitate the gatherings, the client entered into a contract with the representative of Studio A (hereinafter the victim) and arranged to rent the studio on set dates each month to hold the club's gatherings.

After the club had held several gatherings at the studio, the victim suddenly demanded a certain amount from the operating committee, claiming that, in addition to the contract fee, studio management fees and the like had to be paid.

When the operating committee refused this, the victim continued conduct such as not cleaning up the studio and not properly stocking supplies.

Feeling displeasure at the victim's conduct, the client left a negative review of Studio A on an online community.

The review included content such as, "The owner does not clean up properly, so the studio is dirty," and, "He engages in gaslighting in an attempt to extract more money under the pretext of management fees."

Upon seeing the review, the victim asserted that his reputation had been damaged by its content and filed a complaint.

The client, who thereby came to face the risk of imprisonment for defamation, requested the assistance of a criminal defense attorney.

1) Denial of the Elements of Defamation Using Precedent

In accordance with the criminal defense attorney's assistance, the investigative agency recognized that the conduct served a public-interest purpose and, accordingly, confirmed that there had been no purpose to disparage the victim.

As a result, it found that the elements of the crime of defamation were not satisfied.

Accordingly, the client was able to avoid the risk of imprisonment for defamation and obtain a non-prosecution disposition.

Where, through an act intended to harm another person's social reputation or dignity, a person spreads false facts or discloses facts and thereby damages that person's reputation, the allegation may be established.

If you require a legal review concerning imprisonment for defamation, you can organize the direction of your response through the assistance of a criminal defense attorney.

A criminal defense attorney analyzes the complaint and the investigation records to review matters such as whether the elements are met, grounds precluding illegality, and the feasibility of asserting public interest, and designs a statement strategy.

If the truth or falsity of a post or the securing of digital evidence becomes an issue, the attorney collaborates with the internal evidence investigation center and the digital forensics center to analyze the materials and secure objective grounds.

If you need assistance, please obtain a review of your specific case through a 🔗Legal Consultation Reservation.