Shin Se-kyung’s agency has confirmed that a malicious commenter who targeted the actress and her family has been sentenced to eight months in prison on appeal and taken into custody in court.
According to Sports Chosun, The Present Company said on November 2 that the Seoul Eastern District Court handed down the sentence in the appeal trial and ordered the defendant detained in court. The ruling concerns a sustained campaign of online abuse against Shin, rather than a single offensive post.
The court found that the defendant had anonymously posted hundreds of contemptuous and insulting messages about Shin over a period of about two months. The posts also targeted her family and included threatening messages that implied physical harm, according to the report. That combination of repeated abuse and family-directed threats was central to the case.
The court noted that Shin had been forced to live with anxiety and fear because the defendant was unidentified and might act in an extreme or unpredictable way. The defendant asked for leniency, citing personal circumstances including depression and remorse, but the court did not accept that argument. It found no basis or legitimate motive for the conduct beyond attracting attention online and venting anger, and noted that the defendant had not addressed the mental shock and pain caused to the victim.
The Present Company said it had monitored malicious posts over a long period and collected evidence, and that the investigation had faced practical difficulties. It credited active reports from fans with helping investigators ultimately hold the perpetrator legally accountable. The agency said it would maintain a zero-tolerance approach, adding: “No matter how long it takes, we will track offenders to the end and hold them legally accountable.”
The agency’s lawyer, Kim Ji-ae of law firm Ascendant Yulbon, was quoted as arguing that online harassment carried out to gain attention or relieve personal stress should be treated as a serious criminal matter. The lawyer’s summarized position was that anonymity does not justify attacks on a person’s dignity or threats to daily life, and that such conduct should carry criminal and civil liability.
The ruling closes this stage of the case, but the agency signaled its monitoring will continue. For Shin, it draws a line between criticism and a prolonged campaign that escalated from insults to threats against her family.
