[Law Firm Power Team] No Clear Standard for False or Manipulated Information... Bae, Kim & Lee: "Establishing Grounds and Procedures Is the Best Defense"

Bae, Kim & Lee's Online Content Regulation Response Task Force
Veteran Experts in TMT, Platforms, and Litigation Join Forces
Comprehensive Support from Regulatory Response to Litigation Risk

On the 16th, the task force team for online content regulation response posed for a photo before an interview with The Asia Business Daily at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC in Jongno-gu, Seoul. From left to right: attorney Juho Yoon, attorney Jiyeon Park, attorney Junho Lee, attorney Ji-young Sang, attorney Sanghoon Jung. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

"The standards for false or manipulated information are even more ambiguous than those for defamation, but there are also no immunity measures like provisional blocking orders. In the end, companies have no choice but to establish their own standards and keep records of the grounds for their decisions."

This is what attorney Jiyeon Park (31st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), who leads the Online Content Regulation Response Task Force at the law firm Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, said in an interview with The Asia Business Daily on September 16.

The amended Information and Communications Network Act, which went into effect in July, requires platforms and content providers to establish management systems to filter false or manipulated information and to respond to reports by providing answers to informants. However, what exactly constitutes false or manipulated information is not specified in detail.

To address this uncertainty, Bae, Kim & Lee has formed a task force in which expert groups collaborate on each issue. The team is structured so that experts in broadcasting, media, platforms, data privacy, and administrative regulation work together. TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecommunications) experts assess whether content constitutes false or manipulated information, and the procedures are designed with the assumption that such decisions could later be subject to litigation.

Initially, attorney Jiyeon Park, head of the TMT group at Bae, Kim & Lee, leads the task force. The core members include attorney Juho Yoon (35th class), who specializes in broadcasting, media, and data privacy; attorney Sanghoon Jung (35th class), who spent about 15 years at Naver handling platform, data privacy, and governance matters; and attorneys Junho Lee (5th bar exam) and Jiyoung Sang (4th bar exam), who specialize in media and data privacy. Also joining are attorneys Kyusik Kim (41st class) and Chiyul Kim (3rd bar exam) for fair trade issues, as well as attorneys Jinwook Song (33rd class) and Jeena Kim (35th class) for compliance. Litigation work is handled by former Supreme Court case researcher Hwarang Yoon (34th class) and former presiding judge Hyoryang Lim (34th class). In criminal matters, former Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Seunghwan Park (32nd class) and former National Police Agency Investigation Bureau attorney Seongbeom Park (4th bar exam) are involved.

The biggest strength of the task force is its extensive experience in the relevant fields. Attorney Jiyeon Park advised online businesses at the time when provisional blocking orders for defamatory posts were first introduced. Attorney Juho Yoon submitted expert opinions to the Korea Communications Commission during the deliberation of the amended law. Attorney Sanghoon Jung, having long served as an in-house counsel at Naver, is well-versed in platform moderation procedures.

The task force advises that, in an environment rife with uncertainty, companies must establish criteria and document the basis for their judgments. First, information that is clearly contrary to precedent or objective fact should be definitely blocked. Decisions should not be made based solely on evidence presented by the informant. Attorney Sanghoon Jung explained, "Rather than placing the entire burden of proof on the informant, companies themselves must now directly make decisions. By basing judgments on both information submitted by the informant and objectively obtainable circumstances, and taking appropriate action, companies can be prepared for any future liability issues." Procedures are also emphasized. Attorney Juho Yoon stated, "If all internal processes have been followed, courts will likely find that the platform has fulfilled its responsibilities, but skipping procedures could work against the platform later."

The Online Content Regulation Response Task Force at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC explained its future objectives as follows: "Since standards in this area are not yet established, we strive to be the optimal partner to help companies identify reasonable standards in the face of regulatory oversight and potential litigation."

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