Supreme Court Decision 2014Do15290 Decided December 27, 2016 【 Insult; Violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, Etc. (Defamation)】 【Main Issue and Holding】 Whether the State or a local government can be a victim of defamation or insult (negative) 【Summary of Decision】 By punishing the offense of defamation or insult according to criminal law, the legal interest the relevant offense is meant to protect is a person’s external reputation, i.e., the social evaluation of a person’s value. Therefore, the State or a local government, as public authorities with the responsibility of and obligation to either protect or realize the fundamental rights of citizens, is not the subject but merely the upholder of fundamental rights. Furthermore, matters pertaining to the State or a local government’s policy decision-making and performance constantly come under broad public scrutiny and criticism, given that the freedom to express such criticism is sufficiently guaranteed for the State or a local government to normally make policy decisions and undergo tasks. Accordingly, in the relationship between the State or a local government and citizens, the former cannot be the subject of external reputation that is protected via means of punishment, and thus, cannot be the victim of defamation or insult. 【Reference Provisions】Article 21 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea; Articles 307 and 311 of the Criminal Act; Article 70 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, Etc. Article 21 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea (1) All citizens shall enjoy freedom of speech and the press, and freedom of assembly and association. (2) Licensing or censorship of speech and the press, and licensing of assembly and association shall not be recognized. (3) The standards of news service and broadcast facilities and matters necessary to ensure the functions of newspapers shall be determined by Act. (4) Neither speech nor the press shall violate the honor or rights of other persons nor undermine public morals or social ethics. Should speech or the press violate the honor or rights of other persons, claims may be made for the damage resulting therefrom. Article 307 of the Criminal Act (Defamation) (1) A person who defames another by publicly alleging facts shall be punished by imprisonment or imprisonment without prison labor for not more than two years or by a fine not exceeding five million won. <Amended by Act No. 5057, Dec. 29, 1995> (2) A person who defames another by publicly alleging false facts shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years, suspension of qualifications for not more than ten years, or a fine not exceeding ten million won. <Amended by Act No. 5057, Dec. 29, 1995> Article 311 of the Criminal Act (Insult) A person who publicly insults another shall be punished by imprisonment or imprisonment without prison labor for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding two million won. <Amended by Act No. 5057, Dec. 29, 1995>