Company chief and director fined for repeatedly insulting employee in group chat

A company president and director repeatedly insulted an employee in a KakaoTalk group chat, and an Ulsan court fined each of them 1 million won.

The president faced about 32 instances of insult over roughly two years from November 2022. He allegedly called the employee names including “blockhead” and “psycho” and used abusive language in the chat, which included other employees. The director allegedly insulted the same worker about 20 times during the same period, including by calling the person “crazy.”

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Considering the content of the abusive language and the period of the offenses, the nature of the crimes is not good, and the victim wants the defendants punished.

The employee reported suffering mental distress from the repeated verbal abuse and filed a police complaint. Prosecutors then brought the two defendants to trial on insult charges.

Ulsan District Court Criminal Division 9, presided over by Judge Song In-cheol, said the nature of the language and the length of the conduct made the offenses serious. The court also noted that the employee wanted the defendants punished. It took their remorse and lack of prior convictions into account when imposing the fines.

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The defendants have repented their wrongdoing and are first-time offenders.