beta
(영문) 서울중앙지방법원 2014.11.14 2014고정3333

명예훼손등

Text

The offense of defamation among the facts charged in the instant case is acquitted. The public prosecution against insult among the facts charged in the instant case is dismissed.

Reasons

1. Around November 30, 2011, the Defendant injured the victim’s reputation by openly pointing out facts with the knowledge that it was assaulted against the denial of the victim, at a mutual coffee shop in Jongno-gu Seoul, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Around November 30, 201, the Defendant did not lend money from the Defendant to C and D working for the victim company, and the victim did not pay the monthly salary of the employees working for the foundation.

2. Determination

A. In order for the crime of defamation to be established, a subjective element must indicate specific facts sufficient to undermine a person’s social reputation with intent to defame another person’s reputation. As such, if the circumstance leading up to which the content of defamation was discovered was made was made in the process of responding to the demand for confirmation of that fact, the criminal intent of defamation cannot be recognized in light of the content and motive of such fact.

(See Supreme Court Decisions 83Do1017, Aug. 23, 1983; 2008Do6515, Oct. 23, 2008; etc.) and “public performance” which is the constituent element of defamation refers to the state in which many, unspecified persons can be recognized. Although a fact was distributed to one person individually, if there is a possibility that the public performance of defamation may be disseminated to many, unspecified persons, then the spread of facts against a specific person may be achieved only when meeting the requirements of performance. Meanwhile, in cases of recognizing the public performance of defamation on the ground of the possibility of spreading, there is a need to dolusence as a subjective element of the constituent element of the crime, and thus, there is a need to have the awareness of the possibility of dissemination, as well as the intent to deliberate the possibility of dissemination, and whether the actor has accepted the possibility of dissemination.