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Virtual idols win lawsuit for damages from online comments

Published: 17 Sep. 2025, 14:05 Updated: 17 Sep. 2025, 14:26

Five-member virtual boy band Plave. Photo is unrelated to the story. [VLAST]

A court has ordered a netizen to pay 500,000 won ($362) in damages for posting malicious comments about members of a virtual idol group.

"The defendant must pay 100,000 won to each of the five plaintiffs," said the Uijeongbu District Court on Wednesday ruling in favor of the virtual idol group in a lawsuit filed against the netizen.

In July 2024, the netizen posted comments on social media criticizing the appearances of the virtual idol group members, who were the plaintiffs in the case.

The group filed a lawsuit claiming the post constituted an act of insult and sought 6.5 million won in damages for each of the five members.

The netizen argued that the members were fictional characters, not real individuals, and that their personal identities had not been revealed, claiming that no legal equivalence could be established between the avatars and the plaintiffs.

However, the court rejected this argument.

The judge ruled that, in the era of the metaverse, avatars are not just fictional images but serve as a means of self-expression, identity and social interaction. Therefore, insulting an avatar can be seen as damaging the external reputation of the actual user.

"The plaintiffs experienced emotional distress due to the defendant’s degrading remarks," the court said. "Considering the content and tone of the defendant’s post, along with circumstances following the violation, the amount of compensation is limited to 100,000 won per plaintiff."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]