Actor Kim Kyu-ri warns of legal action over upside-down flag controversy on Hangul Day

Actor Kim Kyu-ri has warned of legal action over online claims that a South Korean national flag was hung upside down on a utility pole in front of a cafe she operates, saying that spreading unverified false information that damages someone's reputation is a punishable offense.

On Friday, Kim posted on Instagram a provision of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, which stipulates that publicly spreading false information online with the intent to defame someone is punishable by up to seven years in prison. "Please be advised that spreading unverified false information that damages a person's reputation may result in punishment under the above law," she warned.

Kim added that attaching or hanging anything on a utility pole without authorization is itself a minor offense under the law — an indirect way of saying she was not responsible for placing the flag there.

The controversy began Thursday, the day before Hangul Day. A video circulated online showing a Taegukgi — the South Korean national flag — hanging inverted on a utility pole in front of Kim's cafe in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, accompanied by the caption: "In front of the cafe run by Kim Kyu-ri in Yeongam. Is the upside-down flag a coincidence?"

The flag was on a utility pole in front of the building, not on the building itself, and it has not been confirmed who put it there. Kim opened a bakery cafe in Yeongam with her family in April.

Controversies over the Taegukgi have been recurring recently.

In August, a Liberation Day banner installed by Incheon city near a crosswalk outside City Hall drew criticism after the flag depicted in it appeared to be upside down. The city explained that the image showed a flag being waved by an independence activist as seen from below, then removed the banner.

At a fireworks show during the Incheon Songdo Beach Festival, footage spread online appearing to show an inverted taeguk symbol in the display. The organizer, Yeonsu-gu, said the shape was a standard circular firework pattern, not a Taegukgi.