Successful Case of Securing Article Deletion and Correction Reporting Against False Reporting

The client faced the problem of articles containing distorted facts about its products being posted on online media outlets. The reports asserted, in a definitive manner, advertising phrases that the client had never used, and important facts relating to an ongoing administrative lawsuit were also presented as though they had been conclusively determined, raising concerns of serious misunderstanding among consumers and external stakeholders. Such articles directly damaged the company's reputation and could affect its sales and business relationships, so the client needed a swift yet forceful legal response.

The core issues of this matter can be summarized in the following two points.

First, whether the specific expressions contained in the articles had actually ever been used in the client's advertising, and whether the reporting constituted false facts. Upon verification, the phrases in question had never in fact been used, and were not even included among the grounds for the administrative agency's disposition.

Second, the problem was that, although the administrative disposition the client was contesting had been suspended in effect by the court's decision to stay execution, the articles described it as if the facts had already been conclusively established. Reporting that treated as settled fact a matter on which judgment had not been finalized carried a high risk of causing readers serious misperception and lowering the company's social standing.

Accordingly, while clearly pointing out that the reporting could constitute defamation through the assertion of false facts under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (the "Information and Communications Network Act"), we sent a strong certified letter (content-certified mail) demanding deletion of the articles and publication of corrective reports. The certified letter set out, in structured form, the specific grounds of the article's distortion, the legal risks, and the required actions to be taken, thereby securing the legitimacy of commencing future legal proceedings.

Through the sending of the certified letter, the client laid the groundwork to swiftly halt the spread of damage caused by reporting based on false facts. By clearly notifying the media outlet and the reporter of their clear legal responsibility, we greatly increased the likelihood that follow-up measures such as correction or deletion of the article and publication of corrective reports would be carried out, and the client became equipped with the evidence and procedural foundation to immediately proceed with civil and criminal procedures if necessary. This case demonstrates how important a swift initial response to distorted reporting is in corporate defamation matters, and offers significant practical implications for protecting a company's image.