Supreme Court: Swearing at child in front of parents not insult if not public

South Korea's Supreme Court has ruled that uttering profanities at someone's child in the presence of their parents does not qualify as insult under the law. The decision clarifies that the crime of insult requires 'publicity,' meaning the offense must be perceived by an unspecified or large number of people.

The ruling came in a case involving a defendant charged with insult for using vulgar language towards a 15-year-old boy during a dispute over land boundaries. The defendant allegedly said, "Hey XXX. What are you doing XXX?" and "Are you a son? You XXX like this, do you want to get hit, XXX?"

The lower courts had found the defendant guilty, with the first instance court imposing a fine of 1 million won and the second instance court reducing it to 500,000 won. The appellate court focused on whether neighbors had overheard the insults, but ultimately found that the parents hearing the profanities was sufficient to establish insult.

However, the Supreme Court overturned this decision. The highest court reasoned that, from the parents' perspective, the insults were a coarse expression of discomfort during a dispute and unlikely to be spread to others. Therefore, the court concluded that the act did not meet the legal requirement of publicity necessary for an insult charge, sending the case back to the Daejeon District Court.

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From the parents' perspective, the insults were a coarse expression of discomfort during a dispute and unlikely to be spread to others.