S. Korean Court Rejects Censorship of Newspaper’s ‘Malicious’ Editorial

Yes, we’re talking about South Korea, where thankfully, the courts still stop obvious government efforts to smother the free press.

The Supreme Court ruled that journalistic opinions or criticism cannot be considered malicious reporting, and that they are exempt from being subjected to malicious reporting lawsuits.

Through this ruling, the Supreme Court suggested detailed standards of differentiating an “actual report” from “expression of opinion or criticism” for the first time. This judgment will set a precedent for indiscriminate lawsuits filed by government entities against the press and reaffirms the value of free speech.

More on South Korea’s press censorship here.