"Why Did You Report My Past Posts?"... Jang Loses Lawsuit Against Media Over 'Han River Dismemberment' Case

Claimed 1 Million Won in Damages for Online Post Coverage

Court: "Public Interest Reporting... No Evidence of Improper Acquisition"

Jang Daeho, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a motel guest, dismembering the body, and disposing of it in the Han River, filed a damages lawsuit against a media outlet that reported on his past online posts, but lost again on appeal.

Jang Daeho, who was arrested and indicted for killing a motel guest, mutilating the body, and disposing of it in the Han River, received a confirmed life sentence. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Yonhap News on July 13, the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Appellate Division 2-3 (Presiding Judges Ye Jihee, Kim Hongjun, and Kim Yeonha) ruled against the plaintiff on July 7, upholding the first-instance decision in the damages lawsuit Jang filed against a media outlet.

In August 2019, Jang was put on trial for killing a motel guest with a blunt instrument after an argument and the guest's refusal to pay, then dismembering the body and dumping it in the Han River. He was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently serving his sentence.

The article at issue was published shortly after Jang's identity was made public at the time of the incident. The article included information that Jang's past anonymous posts on online forums and accommodation industry communities had come to light through other media reports.

According to the article, in 2007 Jang replied to a student struggling with school violence on Naver KnowledgeiN, advising, "Just fight no matter what," and "Hit the other person's head." In 2016, while working as a motel employee, he wrote on an online accommodation community about an incident in which a gang member with a tattoo on his arm threatened him over high room rates, adding that saying, "If you have tattoos, don't knives go in?" would change the customer's attitude.

In December 2024, Jang filed the lawsuit, claiming that the reporter had infringed upon his right to personality by discovering and reporting his secrets through improper means. The amount of damages he sought in the appeal was 1 million won.

However, the appellate court rejected Jang's claim that the report violated the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection or the Act on Press Arbitration and Remedies for Damage Caused by Press Reports.

The court acknowledged that, since it was not widely known that Jang was the author of the posts, there could be room to regard this as "another person's secret" under the Information and Communications Network Act. However, it found no evidence that the media outlet had obtained the information through improper means or methods.

It explained that Jang's posts were investigated during the police investigation, and that another media outlet had reported on the content first through their own reporting, after which the defendant cited those contents.

The argument that the report violated the Press Arbitration Act was also not accepted. The court found no evidence of illegality in the reporting process or methods, and determined that the article served the public interest by informing the public's right to know. It also explained that the article's contents were consistent with the truth, which negated any unlawfulness.

The court determined that the posts could be used to infer some of Jang's motives and psychology behind the crime, and that the restriction on his personality rights caused by the article was minimal. The court dismissed Jang's appeal, stating, "There is no merit to the plaintiff's claims under any circumstances."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.