The Korea Herald 2014.12.28 "Korea struggles to enact hate speech laws"

............................However, Choung Wan, professor at Kyung Hee University Law School, said both the terror attack by Oh and the “binge-eating” protest against the Sewol victim’s father, can be clearly viewed as acts of hate crime. “Expressing your opinion is one thing,” the law expert said in a phone interview. “But if you are hurting others in the process, it’s called violence and discrimination.” Like Choi, Choung also said it is important for South Korea to promulgate comprehensive legislation against hate speech crimes, as the country is becoming more diverse socially, ethnically and culturally. “Hatred often consists of regional prejudice and this is also linked to racism,” Choung said.  “And there is no ‘natural’ way of combating prejudice. For many, it does not go away ‘naturally.’ That is why we need to regulate hate speech. Seemingly innocuous prejudice may snowball into more pernicious forms (when expressed and shared by many), and result in dangerous consequences.”.................................

According to law professor Choung, many views shared on Ilbe against Korean social minorities, including Korean women and people of Jeolla origin, can be regarded as forms of hate speech. For example, the members call those from the Jeolla region “hong-eo,” the Korean word for fermented skate fish rays, which is Jeolla’s regional specialty known for its distinctive taste. They would also use Jeolla’s regional accent, along with the derogatory term “hong-eo,” when insulting people from the region, where the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement took place.  While left-leaning scholars and politicians call it an inhumane massacre by former President Chun Doo-hwan’s authoritarian government ― it is estimated that almost 250 were killed ― their far-right counterparts believe it was orchestrated and inspired by communist sympathizers. “I would have to say that (the regional conflicts in Korea) are very serious and concerning,” Choung said. “Such hatred against one another especially escalates during election season.”...........................

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