This captured image, provided by Yonhap News TV, shows the Bad Fathers website, which names uncooperative parents refusing to pay child support. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) –The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized a guilty sentence for the operator of Bad Fathers, a website publicly blacklisting child support defaulters.
The court upheld a lower court’s decision and finalized its suspended ruling of a fine of 1 million won ($763.65) for the 61-year-old website operator, Koo Bon-chang.
Koo was indicted on charges of defamation after sharing the photos and personal information of five parents on the name-and-shame website in late 2018, accusing them of defaulting on child support payments.
They were among many others whose personal information was shared by Koo on the website, and the court case was initiated by the five victims who lodged a complaint against him.
A district court had initially found Koo innocent, determining that his activities served public interests.
An appellate courtlater struck down the decision, saying his activities constituted illegal “private” penalties. The court then sentenced him to a fine of 1 million won and suspended the sentence, taking into consideration the circumstances leading to his crime.
“It is recognized that Bad Fathers eventually contributed to forming public opinion and discussion on the public issue of unpaid child support,” the Supreme Court said. “With the purpose of enforcing payment by publicly disclosing defaulters … and shaming them, the website resorted to what are close to private penalties.”
Three years since the opening of Bad Fathers, the government revised the law on enforcing child support payments in 2021 and has since disclosed personal information of defaulters through official procedures. Following the enactment, Koo took down his website.
(Yonhap)
