"South Korean Internet Users Are Disgusting": Man in His 30s Fined for Threatening Posts

Repeatedly Posted Death Threats on an Online Community in Japan
Claimed They Were Written "Impulsively," but Court Ruled It Was "Public Intimidation"

A man in his 30s who repeatedly posted death threats targeting South Korean internet users was sentenced to a fine.

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Judge Kim Bora of the Seoul Northern District Court's Criminal Division 13 said on October 18 that she had sentenced the 32-year-old man, identified as A, to a fine of 3 million won on charges of public intimidation.

A was indicted on suspicion of posting messages on a domestic online community from Tokyo, Japan, on December 14 last year, under the title "Honestly, it's true that South Korean internet users are disgusting." The posts included statements such as, "They're so disgusting that they make me want to kill," and, "I could actually kill South Koreans."

Investigators found that two days later, A also posted messages on the same community, including, "You'd better be really careful," and, "Taking out a few of you before I go would be no big deal."

However, A's attorney argued that the charge of public intimidation did not apply because the group targeted, South Korean internet users, was too broad and abstract, and there was no possibility that the posts would lead to an actual crime. The attorney also argued that A had written the posts impulsively and temporarily while emotionally distressed over experiences including school violence during his school years, and that he had no intent to commit public intimidation.

The court, however, ruled that the offense of public intimidation punishes the act of publicly announcing an intention to harm the lives or bodies of unspecified people or a large number of people.

"Considering that someone who saw the posts felt fear and reported them through e-People and to the police, among other factors, the acts described in the defendant's charges constitute the offense of public intimidation stipulated in Article 116-2 of the Criminal Act," Judge Kim said, rejecting the arguments of the defendant and his attorney.

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