Soldier ‘not guilty’ on charge of insulting superior officer in unit… Court, “It does not refer to a specific person and has no performance potential.”

A soldier in his 20s was put on trial on charges of swearing at a specific superior in his unit, but was acquitted by the court after it was acknowledged that the remarks did not refer to a specific person and did not have a performance nature.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the 3rd Regional Military Court found Mr. A, in his 20s, not guilty last month on charges of insulting his superiors. Mr. A was indicted on charges of making insulting remarks against a specific superior in a situation where his remarks could be heard by people around him within the unit.

However, Mr. A denied the charges, saying he never made the problematic remarks. In addition, it was argued that even if the remark had been made, it would be difficult to identify the other person as it was more like a dissatisfied self-talk.

The court found him not guilty based on the statement of another unit member, Mr. B, who was at the scene at the time, saying, “I heard the remark itself, but I did not know who it was directed at.” In order for an insult to be established, the victim must be identified and the expression must have the potential to be spread, but according to Mr. B's statement, Mr. A's remarks do not meet these requirements.

Seo In-ho, a lawyer at the Daeryun Law Firm who represented Mr. A, said, “In this case, the key point was not whether Mr. A made the problematic remarks, but whether the remarks met the requirements for criminal punishment. As a result of the dispute focusing on whether a specific target was identified and whether the expressions had the potential to spread to the outside world, a not guilty verdict was reached.”

Reporter Jeong Cheol-wook

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Soldier 'not guilty' of insulting superior officer in unit... Court, “There is no performance without referring to a specific person” (Shortcut)