Abstract
Defamation and Broadcasting
Byung-Il Bae (Professor, Dept. of Law, Yeungnam Univ.)
In the current society, the rapid development of press media, such as newspaper, radio and TV, facilitates expression of opinions. The more newly developed communication technologies, such as internet, accelerate this phenomena, the more the defamations in the broadcasting have increased in this situation.
The freedom of expression is ensured to the highest degree as an important Constitutional Right in developed democratic nation. But no less important, the private benefit and protection of the law, such as a reputation, credit, freedom of privacy must be willing to be protected. As is generally known, defamation means the act of harming the reputation of another by making a false statement to the third person. If the alleged defamation involves in broadcasting, the plaintiff is required to prove the statement's falsity. Nevertheless the possibilities of defamation in the broadcasting should be focused, however there are few studies on defamation and broadcasting regarding to the civil laws. As the recognition of the public rights is expanded, the defamation cases of broadcasting are increasing. In current trend of the defamation cases, the Korean prefer to claim mainly civil cases rather than criminal actions.
This article discusses the concept of defamation in broadcasting, and also analyzes issues on the concerned parties and requisites for defamation, such as the denial of the illegality, attention obligation, difference fact and opinion, a reasonable cause.