Shocking cases of reprehensible actions, especially by young women, have recently heated the online communities.

The police on Saturday booked a 28-year-old woman for assaulting a pregnant woman in her eighth month, amid a fight in the subway in Bucheon west of Seoul, officials said.

The related video clips were posted on the Internet by a witness and were rapidly circulated among netizens, who raged over the young woman’s use of violence.

The aggressor, nicknamed the “kick girl,” claimed that she did not notice the victim’s pregnancy and apologized, but her words were discredited as the pregnant woman was quite visibly with child.

Earlier this month, a female student at a university in Seoul was castigated online for having hurled verbal abuse at a street cleaner.

Though she later apologized and the victim accepted it, netizens continued to refer to her as the “depraved girl.”

There have been other cases of young women whose actions have enraged the public, especially on the Internet. Among them are the so-called “loser girl” who referred to short men as losers on a TV program and the “dog dung girl” who refused to clean up after her dog in the subway.

The apparent lack of a regard for others in Korean society, especially in the younger generation, is largely due to excessive competition and individualism, some experts said.

“The present teens and twenty-somethings have mostly been raised in a highly competitive environment, in which they were taught that winning is the only thing that matters,” said Kim Yoon-soo, a sociology professor at Korea University.

“They lack the skill of … forming harmonious relationships with others.”

Some, however, point out that those who faced the judgment of the online community were mostly, and unfairly, female.

“The public feels a greater shock when a refined, beautiful young woman acts so immorally and shamelessly,” said Kim Yung-jung, who runs an online current issue community.

Others point out that the “girl” series reflects the perspective of men, who tend to take the lead on the Internet.

“A majority of the netizens who speak up and form a general opinion on the Internet are men,” said an employee of an online news portal, who asked to be anonymous.

“Though the women in fact deserved to be blamed, the “girl” series may connote the male point of view on women, forcing a specific image and role on them.”

Another risk of the online hunt is that the netizens may easily become self-righteous and illicitly violate their victim’s basic rights.

In a highly developed Internet environment, the personal information of a public target has often been revealed on the Internet, cornering down the victim.

Back in 2008, a female securities company employee surnamed Baek was hunted online for spreading rumors which allegedly drove actress Choi Jin-sil to death.

Though officials refused to reveal her name, face or other personal information, every detail became available on the Internet and Baek was socially ostracized.

By Bae Hyun-jung  (tellme@heraldcorp.com)