All appeals are dismissed.

The costs of appeal are assessed against the Defendants.

The grounds of appeal are examined.

1. Whether an article of the press constitutes a tort by damaging another person’s reputation shall be determined on the basis of the overall appearance that the article presents to the reader, comprehensively taking into account the objective contents of the article, the ordinary meaning of the used words, the connection method of phrases, etc., under the premise of the ordinary method in which the reader contacts the article, in relation to the overall purport of the article;

In particular, in a case where the contents of a report are about a fact under investigation by an investigative agency, the general readers do not have any way to confirm the truth of the reported fact, and there is a tendency to accept the contents of the report as truth based on their authority and trust, and such a report itself does not ask for whether the contents of the report are true due to extensive, prompt and rapid spread, etc., even though the media has extensive and prompt broadcast media, and where such a report causes serious damage to a person who is expressed as a suspect or his/her surrounding persons, the media that reports such suspected facts must report properly and sufficiently to support the truth of the alleged facts, and also pay attention to the contents of the report or the method of expression so that the general readers do not mislead the facts due to the overall increase of the news materials even when preparing and reporting the article. If such duty of care was not fulfilled, even if the purpose of the report does not focus on another person’s report, the report is obviously liable for damages caused by defamation, and it should be held liable as a media for defamation.

Supreme Court Decision 200Da50213 Decided May 10, 2002 and Supreme Court Decision 2000Da50213 Decided December 27, 2007