Korean Store Owner Fined for Defamation for Posting Picture of Shoplifter

Just another example of the crazy defamation laws in place in South Korea:

Would it be defamation if the face of a customer who took goods without paying at an unmanned store was publicly attached to the store?

In this case, the court said, “It constitutes defamation.”

According to the legal community on the 28th, Judge Gong Woo-jin of the Incheon District Court’s Criminal Chamber 14 sentenced A (43) to a fine of 300,000 won for the owner of an unmanned stationery store accused of defamation.

Mr. A, who runs an unmanned stationery store in Jung-gu, Incheon, released a photo on November 7, 2022, showing a young customer who took goods in a bag without paying at his store.

It was released by attaching a picture of a child taken on a closed-circuit (CC) TV screen to the store, and it was put on trial when parents accused A of defaming the child.

A said, “I’m looking for a child who took a figure (model doll) worth 23,000 won and 11 Pokemon cards without paying four days ago. If you know this child, please contact me,” he said.

The court ruled that if A does not pay a fine, 100,000 won will be converted into one day and detained at a labor center for three days, saying that defamation charges are established.

Maeil Kyeongchae via a reader tip

You can read more at the link.