EXCLUSIVE: Court Finalizes Not-Guilty Ruling for Commenter Who Called for Beating Joo Ho-min's Son

A netizen who commented that a child "doing [obscene] things should be hit" in an article about webtoon artist Joo Ho-min has been acquitted on criminal insult charges, with the verdict now final.

The commenter, identified only as A, posted in November 2023 — while the criminal trial of a special education teacher accused of emotionally abusing Joo's autistic son was ongoing — writing that a kid "doing [obscene] things like Joo Ho-min's son should be beaten; trying to handle it with words is what leads to mistakes." Joo filed the criminal complaint himself. Under Korean law, insult is a victim-initiated offense, meaning prosecution requires a direct complaint from the person affected.

A was indicted in October 2024. The defense argued the comment amounted to mild, abstract criticism of a specific action rather than a personal attack on the child's character. Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 9-3 agreed in June of last year, acquitting A at the first trial. The court found the comment was directed at a specific behavior — a reported incident in which the child had suddenly exposed himself in front of a female classmate — and that criticizing the behavior while arguing for physical discipline was the commenter's primary intent, not degrading the child as a person.

Prosecutors appealed, but the same court division upheld the acquittal in April, ruling the comment could be read as an argument for corporal punishment rather than a personal insult, and that while the phrasing was rough, it did not rise to the level of "verbal abuse sufficient to destroy a person's dignity."

Attorney Kim Nam-o of Honglim Law Firm, who represented A, said the ruling "confirms that the scope of critical expression on matters of public concern involving public figures should be interpreted broadly" and that courts should be "cautious about immediately pursuing criminal punishment for online expression that is somewhat rough without examining its context and intent."

Separately, the special education teacher charged with emotionally abusing Joo's son was acquitted at the appellate level in May of last year. The second trial rejected the evidentiary value of a recording Joo had secretly placed in his son's coat pocket — evidence the first trial had admitted. That case remains pending before the Supreme Court on prosecutors' further appeal.

South Korea's criminal insult statute (모욕죄) is a victim-initiated offense carrying up to two years in prison or fines, making it a frequent tool for public figures to pursue online critics. Courts balance it against constitutional free-speech protections case by case.

victim-initiated offense; charges cannot proceed without a direct complaint from the person allegedly harmed