Bill would impose up to five years in prison or fines of up to 50 million won (about $32,700) for deliberately and repeatedly posting or distributing mockery and hate content
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Hoon-gi, who represents Incheon's Namdong-eul district, introduced a bill Wednesday aimed at curbing the spread of mockery and hate content on online communities, including "Ilbe" — short for Ilgan Best Jeojangso — where such content has proliferated.
According to Lee, mockery and hate are being reproduced online in the form of "memes" — photos, videos and posts that spread like collective trends.
Current law under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, as well as amendments set to take effect in July, focus primarily on defamatory illegal content, false information, and incitement to discrimination or violence. However, repeated mockery and collective ridicule carried out through demeaning language, derisive images and caricatured memes — without any factual assertions — remain in a legal blind spot.
The bill was drafted to treat Ilbe-style mockery and hate not as individual misconduct but as a serious social problem requiring regulation. It also seeks to hold site operators accountable when they knowingly allow such content to circulate repeatedly, and to establish effective response mechanisms at the national and societal level.
A key provision introduces the concept of "mockery and hate information," defining expressions of insult, ridicule, degradation, contempt or caricature targeting specific individuals, groups, or victims and bereaved families of national or social incidents as illegal content falling under that category.
The bill also establishes criminal penalties for those who deliberately and repeatedly post or distribute such content — up to five years in prison or fines of up to 50 million won. It further creates a legal basis for the Korea Communications Commission to issue corrective orders against sites that knowingly allow mockery and hate content to circulate unchecked. Such orders could require deletion, access blocking, exposure restrictions, limits on search and recommendation algorithms, account restrictions and monetization bans.
Sites that fail to comply with corrective orders or engage in serious neglect could face closure. Non-compliance would carry fines of up to 3 percent of relevant revenue, and repeated violations or serious neglect could result in suspension orders of up to six months. If similar violations continue after a suspension, authorities could order the community site to shut down entirely.
The bill also includes safeguards to minimize potential infringement on freedom of expression, requiring that the degree of harm, the repetitive nature of the content, public interest considerations, and the purpose and manner of expression all be taken into account.
"The National Assembly must close the legal blind spots that leave hate and mockery unchecked," Lee said. "This bill aims to establish the minimum social safeguards needed to protect human dignity and personal rights — we can no longer stand by while online hate is allowed to fester."
bigroot@heraldcorp.com
