I've been accused of defamation over a review I posted

Many people first wonder whether to delete the post, but there are things to preserve before you do.

• Take screenshots of the post showing the date and time it was written, the view count and the comments.
• Put contracts, receipts, photos and chat records supporting the facts in your post into one folder.
• If there are other people's reviews or news articles about the same business, save them too.
• Keep any deletion requests or complaint messages exchanged with the business or the other person exactly as they are.

Korean law also punishes damaging someone's reputation by publicly revealing true facts, and posts made online are often investigated under the Information and Communications Network Act (정보통신망법). So the fact that you did not lie does not, on its own, make the allegation disappear.

However, the Information and Communications Network Act only punishes where there was intent to disparage, and under the Criminal Act (형법), stating true facts solely for the public interest is not punished. For a review meant to warn other consumers so they do not suffer the same harm, this is the core of the defense.

A post that sets out verifiable facts such as dates, amounts and what was said, and leaves the judgment to readers, is more likely to be accepted as serving the public interest. On the other hand, attacking someone's character with words like "con artist" or "subhuman," or stating unconfirmed guesses as fact, can be seen as showing intent to disparage, and the offense of insult may also become an issue.

In questioning, you will be asked why you wrote the post. Your answer as to whether it was to pressure them for a refund or to inform others drives the decision, so think it through in advance.

Taking the post down is not in itself an admission of the allegation, and it can be taken into account as a step to stop the harm from growing. But be sure to keep the original before deleting it.

Defamation is an offense not punishable against the victim's wishes, so if the other person does not want punishment, the case ends. If there is good room to argue public interest, the usual order is to dispute it first through a written opinion rather than rush to settle, and to consider settling if the post included false statements or went too far.

Once a complaint is filed, the police first interview the complainant, then ask the writer to appear. After questioning, if they find no grounds, the case ends with non-referral; if they find grounds, they refer it to the Public Prosecution Service (공소청), where the prosecutor decides on a suspension of indictment (기소유예), a request for a summary order (약식명령) or a formal indictment.

Separately from the criminal complaint, the business may also sue for damages. If public interest is accepted in the criminal case, it also helps in the civil case, so it is better to prepare your written opinions and materials at the criminal stage with the civil case in mind too.

Posting again about being accused, or continuing to mention the business, can lead to a new complaint. Also avoid copying the same content to other platforms.

Contacting the business to complain emotionally, or setting conditions such as "I'll delete the post if you refund me," can also be interpreted against you. If you need to talk, keep it short and in a form that leaves a record.

A managing partner looks at the original post together with your supporting materials and assesses whether arguments about public interest and intent to disparage can be made. Before questioning, we practise questions about how you came to write the post and about each expression, attend the questioning with you and submit a defense counsel's written opinion with the supporting materials attached. If you have been summoned, contact us through the chat on this page.