A Korean court ordered a person who exposed a romantic partner’s affair in workplace group chats to pay 19 million won ($14,200) to the partner’s bereaved family.
However, it also ruled that the disclosure was not legally responsible for the partner’s subsequent death by suicide.
The Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court partially ruled in favor of the family on Aug. 13, according to a ruling reported by Herald Business on Wednesday.
The defendant learned in February 2023 that their partner was having an affair. They disclosed this information in three group chats used by their partner’s colleagues, according to the report. The partner later died by suicide.
In a separate criminal case, the defendant received a 10-month prison term suspended for two years for defamation. The conviction was finalized in September 2024.
In the civil case, however, the court rejected the family’s argument that the defamatory disclosures were legally responsible for the death.
The court said death by suicide could not be regarded as an ordinary or reasonably foreseeable consequence of defamation. It also found that the defendant could not have anticipated the partner’s decision because the deceased had no known history of depression or other mental health conditions.
Nevertheless, the court held that the defendant was liable for the emotional distress caused to the deceased and the family by publicly disclosing the affair.
The family appealed the ruling on Aug. 28.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
