Elements of an Insult Charge | Non-Prosecution Decision for a Client Subject to a Criminal Complaint for Insult

The circumstances of the client's case, for which a consultation was conducted regarding the elements of the crime of insult and punishment for insult, are as follows.

The client was going through a psychologically very unstable period, and after seeing an article about a certain celebrity, became angry and posted a malicious comment.

About one year later, the client received a call to appear for questioning, having been told by the police station that a complaint had been filed for online insult, and immediately deleted the comment and completed the questioning alone.

However, upon receiving a referral decision after the police questioning, feeling regret over the inadequate initial response and fear of punishment, the client immediately requested assistance from this firm's insult crime attorney to defend against punishment.

We will explain the elements of the crime of insult, along with the level of punishment.

As social media and online communities develop, communication based on them is becoming more active.

Along with this, cases of online insult are also surging, and intense legal responses related to this are increasing as well.

Online insult is the same as defamation in that the protected legal interest is external reputation, but it is distinguished from defamation in that there is no statement of a specific fact.

In addition, the crime of insult is a crime requiring a complaint to prosecute, and a public prosecution may be brought only if the victim files a complaint.

When a person insults another online, the person is punished for the crime of insult under the Criminal Act, and even a single malicious comment directed at a nickname may become subject to criminal punishment.

Even if it is not a real name, because the IP address and account information remain, identity may be disclosed even without clear identification if the investigative agency requests it, so even a comment posted anonymously makes it difficult to avoid responsibility.

Under the Criminal Act, the crime of insult provides that a person who publicly insults another shall be punished, and a person may be punished for using abusive language while disparaging another's worth.

The elements of the crime of insult are as follows.

Malicious comments related to famous celebrities are often let go, but there are many cases in which complaints are actually filed, and in severe cases they may actually lead to punishment.

The client's comment was also one leaving contemptuous sentiment toward the celebrity, and because an insulting expression directed at a specific person was established, it was a situation in which it was difficult to avoid heavy punishment for the crime of insult.

The attorney, who conducted a consultation on the elements and level of punishment for the crime of insult, provided the following assistance.

The client, who requested a consultation on the elements of insult, received a non-prosecution disposition from the prosecution with the assistance of an attorney.

The sentencing conditions set out in the Criminal Act are as follows.

A comment left without much thought may lead to a complaint for online insult, so one must respond to the best of one's ability to avoid leaving a criminal record.

In particular, as in the client's case, if a referral decision is received during the police investigation, it is important to obtain the assistance of a specialized attorney in order to establish a strategy to defend against punishment and respond closely during a subsequent prosecutorial investigation.

If you face the risk of punishment for online insult, we hope you overcome the difficulty through the assistance of this firm's criminal law specialist attorneys, who have extensive experience handling online insult cases.