By Chung Hyun-chae
Police have concluded that Kakao CEO Rim Ji-hoon is innocent of aiding and abetting incidents of online defamation, an allegation raised by Kang Yong-seok, a lawyer and a TV celebrity, the target of the postings.
According to Seocho Police in Seoul, Sunday, Kang filed a libel suit in November against Rim and seven Internet users for posting slanderous comments against him.
Kakao operates one of the nation's two biggest portal sites, Daum. Rim was cited as an accomplice to defamation for not removing the comments.
"Portal sites are responsible for taking preemptive measures to prevent cyber defamation by actively deleting slanderous posts, but Daum assisted such behaviors by leaving up the malicious comments," Kang said in a petition.
In a written statement to police, Rim denied the allegation, saying, "We try our best to delete and prevent online defamation and have never aided or abetted it." He added that his company operates a 24-hour report center to monitor possible violations of people's rights.
According to police, Kang never asked Kakao to delete the comments in question.
So, police concluded that Kakao did not leave the comments up intentionally and decided not to summon Rim for questioning.
Of the seven Internet users, police sent three cases to the prosecution seeking indictments.
Kang also filed a similar suit against Kim Sang-hun, CEO of Naver, the other big portal site of Korea. Gangnam Police Station, which is dealing with the case, will likely reach a similar conclusion.
Police have concluded that Kakao CEO Rim Ji-hoon is innocent of aiding and abetting incidents of online defamation, an allegation raised by Kang Yong-seok, a lawyer and a TV celebrity, the target of the postings.
According to Seocho Police in Seoul, Sunday, Kang filed a libel suit in November against Rim and seven Internet users for posting slanderous comments against him.
Kakao operates one of the nation's two biggest portal sites, Daum. Rim was cited as an accomplice to defamation for not removing the comments.
"Portal sites are responsible for taking preemptive measures to prevent cyber defamation by actively deleting slanderous posts, but Daum assisted such behaviors by leaving up the malicious comments," Kang said in a petition.
In a written statement to police, Rim denied the allegation, saying, "We try our best to delete and prevent online defamation and have never aided or abetted it." He added that his company operates a 24-hour report center to monitor possible violations of people's rights.
According to police, Kang never asked Kakao to delete the comments in question.
So, police concluded that Kakao did not leave the comments up intentionally and decided not to summon Rim for questioning.
Of the seven Internet users, police sent three cases to the prosecution seeking indictments.
Kang also filed a similar suit against Kim Sang-hun, CEO of Naver, the other big portal site of Korea. Gangnam Police Station, which is dealing with the case, will likely reach a similar conclusion.
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