Crime of contempt

British novelist Salman Rushdie, the writer of “The Satanic Verses,” has been under constant danger for more than 20 years. The Iranian Revolution leader Ayatollah Khomeini placed a fatwa (death sentence) on Rushdie in February 1989 on the charge of defaming Islam with a disrespectful description of the prophet Muhammad, and offered a reward of 3 million U.S. dollars for information leading to Rushdie`s killing. At the Korean Marines unit where a shooting rampage left four killed Monday, a senior soldier reportedly told a private second class, “I`m at the same level as God, and why do you believe in Christ? Pray to me rather than Jesus,” and set the Bible on fire with his lighter. This effectively constitutes defamation of religion and religious beliefs. People who fail to respect other religions cannot be considered civilized.

The term “defamation” is used to imply a broader concept than “contempt,” but both words they have the same meaning of “expression of intent to despise other people.” Article 311 of Korea’s Criminal Act says, "People who insult others for no reason can be sentenced to up to one year in prison or confinement or face up to 2 million won (1,892 dollars) in fines,” suggesting punishment rules on the crime of contempt. Means of insults can take various forms, including language, documents or behavior. Intentionally failing to respect others in public places by people, who are obliged to express respect, can constitute contempt as well.

In 2008, a drunken man in his 40s told a policeman, “What`s your name? Tell me, you son of a bitch!” was arrested for using abusive language and indicted. He was fined 1 million won (946 U.S. dollars) for the crime of contempt. The man then filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court questioning the constitutionality of the ruling against him. He said punishing him for simply using abusive language was unjust. Perhaps he thought he had freedom of speech. The Constitutional Court rejected the appeal, saying the ruling did not constitute prevention of excessive punishment under the Constitution. The court said, “Using criminal punishment as a measure to prevent such an act cannot be construed as having gone beyond the scope of legislative discretion, when considering that in modern society, insulting behavior spreads easily and cause massive damage, and it is difficult for the victim to recover from damage.”

Inflammatory comments about ordinary people or entertainers and searching for and publicizing the identities and personal affairs of certain people also constitute contempt. Reckless comments or thoughtless acts against other people can inflict deep pain on others, and even cause suicide. The development of the Internet has escalated the scope of damage to an uncontrollable level. Abusive language and insults in a subway car can now be recorded with a smartphone and spread limitlessly via the Internet or Twitter. In this era of information and telecommunication, it is extremely difficult for the victim to recover from damage caused by contempt.

Editorial Writer Lee Jin-nyong (jinnyong@donga.com)