Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Momentum builds for hate speech ban as president steps in
Activists hold an anti-China rally in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Oct. 29, ahead of the APEC summit. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Jung Min-ho
Lawmakers move to criminalize public defamation of groups
Momentum is building for a legislative push to ban hate speech, as President Lee Jae Myung calls for strict penalties against expressions of hatred based on race or nationality.
During a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Lee condemned what he described as “anachronistic discrimination and hate” and instructed police and officials to strengthen efforts to penalize hate speech and disinformation.
“On social media, hate speech targeting specific groups is being spread indiscriminately, and false and manipulated information is flooding the space,” the president said. “These acts are clear criminal behavior that go beyond the limits of freedom of expression.” Such acts, he added, pose a serious threat not only to democracy but also to the fabric of everyday life.
His comments come after a spike in anti-China rallies in areas such as Myeong-dong and Daerim in Seoul, where demonstrators have chanted slogans such as “China Out.” Tensions fueled by such gatherings prompted the Chinese Embassy in Seoul to recently issue a safety advisory for its nationals.
Lee’s intervention is expected to bolster efforts to criminalize hateful remarks targeting foreign nationals or specific ethnic groups. The bill, led by Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, would expand the criminal code to make it a crime to publicly “defame or insult” certain groups, extending protections beyond the current focus on individual victims.
“At the anti-China rally held on Oct. 3, participants sang what is known as the ‘Jjangae Song,’ which contained lyrics such as ‘Jjangae (a derogatory slur used to refer to Chinese people), North Korean commies and Reds should get out of Korea as soon as possible,’ while hurling various insults and spreading false claims about China’s involvement in the fire that occurred at the National Resource Management Center and election fraud,” lawmakers said in the proposal.
“Currently, both defamation by false statement and insult are limited only to cases where a specific individual is identifiable as the victim, and do not acknowledge insults or defamation targeting a group. Perpetrators and participants in anti-China rallies are exploiting this legal loophole,” they added.
If signed into law, violators could face up to five years in prison or 10 million won ($6,800) in fines for defamation, and one year in prison or 2 million won in fines for public insults.
But critics, including the conservative opposition People Power Party and legal scholars, argue that the proposed bill imposes a double standard and poses a serious threat to free speech.
“They have ignored anti-American protests, long led by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions … Yet now, they say they will jail people for holding anti-China protests,” the party’s media spokesman Lee Jae-neung said. “Whose country is this, really? The Republic of Korea belongs to the people of liberal democracy.”
Driven by China’s installation of large fixed platforms and maritime structures in the West Sea and high-profile kidnappings involving Chinese perpetrators targeting Korean citizens in Cambodia, anti-China sentiment is seemingly growing in Korea.
An online petition calling for the retraction of a temporary visa-free policy for Chinese group tourists garnered more than 120,000 signatures on the National Assembly website last month, reflecting broader unease about both public safety and foreign influence.
Nevertheless, limiting the constitutional right to freedom of speech by criminalizing remarks deemed offensive to some groups of people is overstretching and highly inappropriate, said a media professor at a national university.
“I am aware of the problem that hate speech has been increasing recently, yet there is no control mechanism for it,” the professor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Korea Times. “But I have doubts about whether criminal punishment is really necessary, and even if it is, the proposed prison time is deemed too excessive. This issue should be discussed further to reach a social consensus.”