Supreme Court overturns insult conviction for cursing at minor in front of parents

South Korea's Supreme Court has ruled that hurling insults at a minor in front of the child's parents does not constitute criminal insult.

The Supreme Court's Third Division, presided over by Justice Lee Heung-gu, overturned a lower court's conviction Friday and sent the case back to Daejeon District Court. The defendant, identified only as A, had been fined 500,000 won ($332) on insult charges.

A was indicted after cursing at a 15-year-old, identified as B, during a land boundary dispute in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, in May 2023. While arguing with B's father, A turned to the teenager and said, "Are you that so-and-so's son? You want to get hit too?"

Both the first and second instance courts found A guilty and imposed the fine, but the Supreme Court reversed those rulings in favor of acquittal.

Article 311 of the Criminal Act stipulates that anyone who publicly insults another person may be sentenced to up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 2 million won.

Under Supreme Court precedent, "publicity" refers to a state in which an unspecified or large number of people can perceive the act.

The court has held that publicity can be established even when a remark is made to a small number of people, if there is an objectively recognized possibility that those present could spread it to an unspecified or wider audience. But the fact that a remark was directed at a specific, limited group can be a strong factor negating publicity.

In this case, the Supreme Court found that "only the victim's father and the defendant's parents heard the insults, and even from the perspective of A's parents, the likelihood of spreading the remarks to others was not high," concluding that publicity had not been established beyond reasonable doubt.