By Kang Hyun-kyung
The Supreme Court upheld a high court’s ruling that a worker’s allegation against his supervisor didn’t constitute defamation as the offender believed what he said was based on fact.
The court ruled in favor of a 48-year-old man, surnamed Lee, saying he was not guilty in a libel case where he was sued for making allegations that his boss was involved in irregularities.
“To constitute defamation, the defendant must make a false allegation and then spread it even though he knows it is made up. In this case, however, Lee is believed not to have known that his remarks about his boss were fabricated,” it said.
Lee, an insurance company worker, was sued in 2009 after he badmouthed his boss, identified as Hwang, in front of two co-workers. Lee alleged that Hwang botched an investigation into his client’s case in return for cash.
The district court ruled in favor of Hwang and ordered Lee to pay him 2 million won.
But the high court reversed the ruling, saying that Lee was not guilty because he believed the bribery allegation as the insurance company had launched a special team to investigate suspicions of misconduct by Hwang.