# South Korean Supreme Court rulings on insult crimes

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/south-korean-supreme-court-rulings-on-insult-crimes
> Updated: 2026-08-27T02:22:08.000Z. Sources: 4. Developments: 2.

The Supreme Court of Korea has issued rulings clarifying the legal boundaries of the crime of insult, specifically regarding online speech and profanity. 

In one decision, the court overturned a conviction involving profanity used in a community group chat, ruling that such language does not necessarily constitute an insult crime. The justices distinguished between expressions that merely hurt feelings and those that damage a person’s social reputation, stating that using profanity to convey negative or critical opinions does not meet legal requirements for insult unless it specifically infringes upon external honor.

In a separate case, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court's conviction of an individual who called a band leader a ‘thug’ (yang-a-chi) in an online comment. While lower courts had previously fined the man, the Supreme Court ruled the remark was an “unrefined expression of negative or critical opinion” regarding a political stance rather than an attempt to cause extreme humiliation or infringe upon personal dignity. The court emphasized that criminal punishment should be applied cautiously to coarse or unrefined expressions.

## Timeline

### 2026-08-27: South Korean Supreme Court overturns insult conviction over online comment

South Korea's Supreme Court overturned an insult conviction against a man who called musician Shin Dae-cheol a ‘thug’ in an online comment, ruling it was a critical opinion rather than criminal defamation.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/south-korean-supreme-court-overturns-insult-conviction-over-online-comment

### 2026-08-14: Supreme Court of Korea rules profanity in group chats is not insult crime

The Supreme Court of Korea ruled that using profanity in a group chat to express anger or criticism does not constitute the crime of insult unless it damages a person's external social reputation.

3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/supreme-court-of-korea-rules-profanity-in-group-chats-is-not-insult-crime

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Cite as: South Korean Supreme Court rulings on insult crimes. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/south-korean-supreme-court-rulings-on-insult-crimes