samsooki - I couldn't have said it any better. I am just shocked and deeply saddened that we as people can force/pressure someone into such a state that they would feel that they don't deserve to be alive anymore.

It's definately something as a society we need to look into and try to tackle, so that stories like these never occur again and I think the first place to look is within ourselves. I honestly wonder what these peoples parents think.

A civil lawsuit might be the best route for the Jin-Shil family at this point. They should take the abuser to the cleaners.

I wonder why this was a slander case, and not an outright criminal stalking case. The fact that the woman made phone calls to CJS's home takes this beyond a typical slander case -- this was outright criminal harassment.

The court's decision to not equate the harassment with the suicide makes sense because it sounds like there were other factors that could have contributed to her death.

But seriously though -- we need to start reevaluating existing slander, defamation, and harassment laws in individual countries. The internet is a whole new game in town, and a person's life can be completely destroyed by a determined nutcase.

I had one experience with a psycho online -- and have very wary of people on the internet ever since. But it was a scary experience, and that was when I realized how completely archaic our existing laws are.

I'm sure that Choi Jinshil's suicide was a product of depressions piling up, which was only trigerred by the slander.

But I still can't believe how a person can be that...evil, resorting to terror someone she doesn't even know over something that doesn't have anything to do with her. That is something I can't fathom. Why did this Baek person go through such length to torture CJS? Was that a 'just because' mindset? It is such a hateful thing, she is no different than those terrorists who kill people.

samsooki, your post reminded me of this quote i saw today:

"The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." - Ayn Rand

You put it very well <3

as bias and ignorant as what i'm about to say may be, i still feel like i have to say it

what is up with all the celebrity suicides in Korea? and why are there such creepy netizens in Korea?
i feel like netizens in Korea have some sort of power to get their message out and are much more... fervent than the normal citizen

i never even heard of the term netizen until i started watching korean shows and i have to say there is an immense population of crazy netizens out there

-people telling jaebum to commit suicide
-people hoping all of snsd die (wtf?)
-so much judgment by people onLINE that gets the gossip going and bitching about plastic surgery
-CREEPYASS fan(girls/boys but i'm seeing mainly pubescent chicks) going nuts in hatred and anger when their precious idols (who it seems like everyone is destined to marry) ever have anything close to a love interest <--- fangirls of this genre annoy the crap out of me

i'm not saying this doesn't happen in other countries but i really feel korea has a highly unique situation when it comes to celebrities

@6: Ayn Rand, huh? :) I think her philosophy was Objectivism and she wrote multiple books about that, including Anthem which I read.

But about the article: I remember when I first found out Choi Jin Shil died. I hadn't wanted her dramas- but I had watched the Last Scandal of My Life, and I decided then and there that I was a Choi Jin Shil fan. My parents were beyond surprised and so was my mom, who kept talking about Choi Jin Shil like she was my mom's friend.

Like someone had previously said, her decision to commit suicide was just triggered by this person. She had gone through so many things and troubles and had fallen into depression, but this person was the one who triggered it. The netizen might not have been the main reason but it might've made a hell of a lot of difference if this had never happened.

People are just cruel. Even after death, she couldn't rest in peace. She might not be Korea's sweetheart anymore, but she holds a special place in many people's hearts as an actress.

Choi Jin Shil, I hope you rest in peace.

Gosh I miss Choi Jin-shil. RIP.

(Sorry JB but maybe a slight typo of her name in the title. ^^)

Which is worse, the fine or the jail time?

Is it to do record-wise? Because I'd think $35k is much worse than 2 years suspended time and 120 hours of community service.

In any case, a tragedy. Though everyone may have a right to their opinion, there is a fine line between that and slander. This needs to stop especially online, where everyone believes themselves to be anonymous and therefore spout hurtful opinions and outright lies they never would voice in real life.

This is simply another sad reminder of the flaws in both the court, and the human social system. I couldn't have said it better than samsooki, and Eviie. I feel that there is no justice here for Choi Jin-sil or her family, and I wonder if this Baek woman feels any remorse for her actions, (I highly doubt it). It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that people will go to in order to express their hate, and Korea seems to express the worst of it. And to what end? Death? I'm left wondering (and I apologize for the western religious terminology here) who's sin is greater? The one who took their own life, or the one who drove them to that end? In my mind it is the tormentor at greatest fault here, but my opinion means little in this case.

My thoughts are with Choi's family as they once again have to face this tragedy.

Although I'm certainly not defending Baek's actions, I would refrain from calling her a psycho or evil or a terrorist. In doing so, you are also perpetuating net-libel. Also, Samsooki -- very well put.

Baek can go to hell.

My prayer goes out to CJS family, especially the children, i hope they were given the strength to get past through this...

I still agree with the part that this case was being used as a political move to push toward more government censorship, which is dangerous territory.

I hope Karma does its worst to Baek. The hater deserves it.

"I hope Karma does its worst to Baek."

Seriously. Baek can go to hell.

if the police found that the person who spread false rumour was true, then he/she should get whats coming,
anyone who defames anyone is wrong
now if we were in high school, this would have been immature, children would have gotten hurt and moved on
but if you are 18+ and decide to defame someone whether the fact is wrong or right
i remember in aus a famous local celebrity (he did ads about cheap items) and someone made a rumour about him which he tracked down, the man who spread the rumour had to pay 2 million etc because it ruined his image, he rep etc etc in court and he never had to do another ad again

the above example is an extreme circumstance where someone got payback for something like that

theoretically that woman started a rumour, and as time went by, choi suffered psychological damage and left the world with her two kids without a mother, her kids will never grow up knowing who and what she was.
while she is given a slap on the wrist and a fine and she a free woman and able to live out her natural life

i think there should be a law on cyber bullying, with the correct and appropriate measures taken to ensure that integrity and punishment fits the crime and with enough proof put them away for what they deserve.
in my opinion (from news and kpop related info), korean netizens are the worst bloggers and the attacks are sometimes outrageous and plain stupid
korean bloggers made jaybom leave kpop earlier this year
k bloggers killed choi and left her children without a mum

theres is my rant and thanks dramabean on the update

@7 ambs

The netizens have power because the media gives it to them.

Netizens have opinions, they go to the messageboards. The media then takes these opinions and turn them into headlines. The media compounds the issue by writing countless, needless articles, all of which are fueled by the opinions of netizens.

I also think netizens are the way they are because Korean people are aggressive by nature. I say this as a Korean-American looking from the outside, but it's becoming more and more clear to me just how much Korean people can be hostile and confrontational. One could find a hostile group of people in any culture, but when you look at Korean netizens, the number of Korean celebrities who succumb to suicide due to netizen hate, online wars on Korean messageboards and Youtube (of all places!) or even watch the Korean news, it's obvious how confrontational Koreans can be.

How else can we answer the question why so many Korean celebrities kill themselves, except to say, because the people there are vultures and have no sense of remorse for what they say on the internet.

I may be kidding about killing Bora (erm, OT madness), but I really couldn't care if Baek was allowed to live. It's not just one comment this evil bitch made -- she went AFTER Choi Jin Shil. Bitch deserves to die. Sorry -- I still can't believe Choi Jin Shil is gone. :(

"How else can we answer the question why so many Korean celebrities kill themselves"

Mmm, more symptomatic of society than anything else. Both Korea and Japan have exceptionally high suicide rates.

"Mmm, more symptomatic of society than anything else. Both Korea and Japan have exceptionally high suicide rates."

But how many examples are there of Japanese celebrities killing themselves because of netizen slander or depression caused by netizen hate?

over here in the US, we have "netizens" too, criticizing celebrities. but they don't take these kind of comments seriously. instead, they actually either embrace or ignore the criticism. sure, there were some celebrities who suffered from depression or drugs/alcohol abuse, but they try to get help to get better. we rarely hear someone famous died from cyberstalking. if someone dares to stalk or harass a celeb, he/she calls the cops and have a restraining order. i wish Korean celebs would take their lives more seriously and get treated for depression. there is no shame in medicating yourself because what's at stake is their well-being and family. doesn't the family members notice there is something wrong with the afflicted person? if you notice a change in mood and behavior, you keep a close watch on that person and try to get professional help when it comes to it. i notice that most Korean celebs that suicided, they were by themselves in hotels without no one close to make sure they were ok. is it a culture difference or just societal harassment that lead to suicide? my statement might offend people, but in some Asian cultures, a failure might trigger wanting to suicide because it's not what their family expect from the person.

I know this isn't much important but wasn't it denied by both parties Choi and Ahn/Jung that CJS never lent money to him, Jung Sun Hee even said CJS and AJH never talked about money..Anyway at the end of day a mother lost a daughter, a brother lost a sister and two young children lost a mother forever and let me say that Korea lost one of their best actress. I understand the court's explanation that this Baek wasn't fully responsible for CJS death for she had been depressed for years.. I just hope that a guilt of killing someone and making two young children motherless will stay to Baek's conscience for the rest of her regretful life... Im sure until her death, she will be known as the person who killed Choi Jin Shil.

I think that saying this Baek person should 'die' or 'go to hell' is doing exactly what we are reacting against. Sure, she started a terrible rumour, which no doubt had an impact on the unfornunate late Choi Jin Shil, BUT:

- a rumour is not powerful without the power of many behind it. I doubt she was alone in this instance, and this kind of net-slander happens all the time.
- Suicide is often the result of depression, as it seems to be here. I think it is unfair to blame Choi Jin Shil's depression solely on this woman, as depression is a mental illness which can effect even people with seemingly perfect lives.

I'm not saying this woman's actions did not affect Choi Jin Shil, or even influence her mental state (I do believe her actions deserve punishment), but I think people just need to be mindful that there are certainly other factors involved which we cannot know.

To stop this kind of net abuse from affecting people so severely, we need to stop our own abuse of others (no matter how much you hate them, or how much you think they have done wrong, or how much you believe your comments won't affect them =p). One drop of water is pretty powerless, right? But millions of drops can make an ocean.

mmm,
every part of her life was pretty depressing,
it's a shame that such a talented actress had to live such a hard life -to the point where she could nolonger take it.
No, actually, it;s a shame for ANYONE to live such a life.

D: