Members of virtual idol group PLAVE have partially won a damages lawsuit against a netizen who posted malicious comments about them.
According to legal sources on September 17, the 8th civil division of the Goyang Branch of the Uijeongbu District Court partially ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a damages lawsuit filed by the virtual idol group against a netizen. The netizen was ordered to pay 100,000 KRW (72.65 USD) to each of the five plaintiffs.
Last July, a netizen posted a series of comments on social media criticizing the appearances of the virtual group members. The group then filed a lawsuit demanding 6.5 million KRW (approx. 4,722 USD) for each of the five members, claiming this constituted defamation.
During the trial, the netizen argued, "The virtual idol group members are not real people, but virtual characters," and "Since their identities are not public, there is no identifiable identity between the virtual characters and the plaintiffs."
However, the court rejected the netizen's argument, stating that in the metaverse era, avatars are not simply virtual images but rather a means of self-expression, identity, and social communication for users. Therefore, insulting an avatar can be considered defamation.
Furthermore, the court ruled that the netizen's post constituted a derogatory personal attack and therefore could not be considered a simple expression of opinion.
The court stated, "The defendant's derogatory remarks caused the plaintiffs mental distress. The defendant is responsible for compensating the plaintiffs for the mental damages they suffered." However, the court ruled, "Considering the content of the posts, the level of their expressions, and the circumstances surrounding the illegal act, the amount of damage is limited to 100,000 KRW per person."
The malicious comments included in the lawsuit included, "When I watch H videos, this... Hannam (derogatory word for Korean man) vibe is unbearable," "The profile photos for the person behind the character on Namuwiki keep changing, but H's original face is so ugly. It's funny," "No P, He's not tall or handsome, so he's hiding behind that damn graphic (character). What are you talking about?" "H's original face is so f*** ugly that they resemble Q," "But why is their skin so rotten? Are they having fun in entertainment establishments like typical Hannams their age?" and "It's not a technical issue, it's H's original face that's f** ugly."
Following the report, Korean netizens have deduced the group to be PLAVE and commented:
"They even blatantly mentioned the real person behind the character while leaving a malicious comment lol."
"If it’s only 100,000 KRW, that’s not much."
"So pathetic."
"Whether it’s virtual or not, just stop leaving malicious comments, sigh."
"Malicious commenters are truly pathetic."
"The comments were pretty severe, but since it was about a virtual person, the fine came out low. If it were someone working with their real face, it would’ve been harsher."
"Wow, they studied PLAVE harder than anyone else. Even I haven’t read the Namuwiki page that much… lol."
"Ugh, the malicious comments are really disgusting."
"There’s nothing more pathetic and funny than running your mouth, getting sued, and ending up with a criminal record lol."
"If it’s a civil case, does that mean they were already found guilty in a criminal case?"
"Wow, so pathetic."
"Only 100,000 KRW?"
"I looked them up out of curiosity, and they weren’t even ugly—must’ve felt unfair lol. If it were me, I’d sue too."
"If you hate them, just open Notepad instead…I’m jealous that PLAVE is good at suing."
"It’s possible to sue, but as you can see, the fines aren’t big, so other companies don’t usually bother. This group is kind of pioneering—winning cases and setting precedents is important for them, so that’s why they sued."
"Why is the fine so low…"
SEE ALSO: PLAVE to hold encore concert in Seoul to conclude Asia tour
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