인터넷에서의 모욕죄 적용의 실태와 쟁점

초록

The Korean Constitution Court declared that the Internet is most communication-promoting media and its regulation should not be implemented on the basis of concept of order. However, as is well recognized, the Internet, unlike our expectation, is becoming the sea of illegal conducts and expressions. Based on this understanding, this study examined how the contempt on the internet is regulated under the Korean law. In order to do this, this study analyzed related legal codes and cases. It was found out that first, off-line contempt regulation system base on penal codes is still being applied to the contempt on the Internet, which may bring about some problems that cannot be resolved by current off-line contempt regulation system. Second, legal defense on the contempt is quite different from the libel and it is not yet well developed enough to break a balance between the right to reputation and the freedom of expression. Third, the Korean courts tend to consider the Internet influential and powerful in that on-line contempt takes place by written words not by spoken words, which may result in heavier punishment than normal contempt. Conclusively, even though the regulation on the contempt will be based on the current regulation system, the courts should consider the present situation in which the legal defense for the contempt is not as well developed as in libel law and some self-righteous movements of the netizen are slowly in motion

키워드