who was bullied for seeming to be homosexual committed suicide. There was
a lawsuit that held the student’s homeroom teacher and the local government
that operates the school responsible for protecting and supervising the student.
In 2016, there was a case in which discriminatory words such as “It is illegal for
them to be here” were shouted at migrant women. The court recognized the
responsibility of the guilty party to compensate for damages with two million KRW.
However, in order to hold someone criminally or civilly responsible for hate
speech, there should be a distinguished victim (individual or particular group), and
specific proof of damage. Therefore, it may be difficult to define general measures
against hate speech. If a minority group is generally referred to, if expressions
of hate speech may be regarded as objective by using softer expressions, or if
hate speech seems like suggestions for policies, it is difficult to hold someone
responsible under the current Civil and Criminal Acts even if such expressions are
deemed hate speech. Therefore, countries around the world have separate legal
measures regarding hate speech. In order to legally forbid hate speech, separate
laws can be enacted such as regulations on hate speech, and it is also possible
to add articles that punish hate speech to the Criminal Act. In addition, it is also
possible to sign the “Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime (2001),
concerning the criminalization of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed
through computer systems” (2003) to counter online hate speech from the EU
and criminalize hate speech that clearly leads to social issues.
Administrative measures can be taken according to the current laws on certain
types of hate speech. If the hate speech has sexual connotations and takes place
in areas such as the workplace, it may be considered “sexual harassment” under
the National Human Rights Commission of Korea Act or the Equal Employment
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