South Korea has started enforcing a new law that allows for heavy financial penalties against media companies and social media influencers who spread fake news.

南韓已開始執行一項新法，允許對傳播假新聞的媒體公司和社群媒體影響者處以高額罰金。

The new law was passed by the National Assembly in December with support from President Lee Jae Myung’s Democratic Party. Under this system, courts can order people or companies to pay damages up to five times the actual loss if they spread illegal or manipulated information for profit or to cause harm. Furthermore, the government can fine individuals up to 1 billion won if they share content that has already been proven false on more than two occasions. Large platforms with over one million daily users must also remove content or suspend accounts when they receive reports of fake information.

這項新法於12月由國會通過，並獲得總統李在明領導的民主黨支持。在此制度下，若個人或公司為了獲利或造成損害而傳播非法或操縱的資訊，法院可判處最高達實際損失五倍的損害賠償。此外，若個人分享已證明為虛假的內容超過兩次，政府可處以最高10億韓元的罰金。每日使用者超過一百萬的大型平台，在收到假訊息舉報時，也必須刪除內容或停用帳號。

This measure was introduced because the government wants to reduce social division and protect democracy from disinformation. This became a priority after former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in 2024. He was later convicted of rebellion and for promoting false claims about election fraud, which the government believes increased national polarization.

引入這項措施是因為政府希望減少社會分歧，並保護民主免於錯誤資訊的侵害。在前總統尹錫悅於2024年宣布戒嚴後，這成為了優先事項。他隨後被判定犯叛國罪，並因散布關於選舉舞弊的虛假主張而被定罪，政府認為這加劇了國家的兩極分化。

However, there are different opinions on this law. The Korea Media and Communications Commission emphasized that the law does not allow state censorship because private companies decide what is false, and reporting in the public interest is still allowed. On the other hand, the Journalists Association of Korea and the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club argue that the law is too vague. They worry that this could discourage journalists from investigating the government or large companies. Additionally, U.S. Under Secretary of State Sarah B. Rogers warned that the law could threaten technological cooperation and lead to censorship based on political views.

然而，對於這項法律存在不同意見。韓國傳播委員會強調，由於是由私人公司決定何為虛假，且基於公共利益的報導仍被允許，因此該法並不構成國家審查。另一方面，韓國記者協會與首爾外國記者俱樂部則認為該法過於模糊。他們擔心這可能會挫傷記者調查政府或大企業的意願。此外，美國國務次長 Sarah B. Rogers 警告，該法可能會威脅技術合作，並導致基於政治觀點的審查。

The law is now in effect, but it is unclear if foreign platforms will follow it, and domestic journalists remain worried about censorship.

該法現已生效，但不清楚外國平台是否會遵守，且本地記者仍對審查感到擔憂。