According to Japan's "Newsweek", suicide is a social problem in South Korea. According to a 2018 survey of causes of death published by the Korea Statistics Agency, 26.6 people committed suicide last year for every 100,000 South Koreans. That figure is more than double the OECD average of 11.2 people and has surpassed Lithuania, which had the highest suicide rate in OECD member states the year before. In this regard, the South Korean government analysis believes that "due to the huge negative impact of too many celebrity (artist) suicides." ”
On October 14 this year, South Korean actress Shirley (real name Choi Shirley) was found dead at her home in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The news shocked South Korean society, her death is believed to be directly related to the long-term online violence, in order not to let her die innocently, South Korean society set off a huge campaign to ban online violence.
Several prominent entertainers stopped working in protest
With the popularity of the Internet, there have been many tragedies in South Korea in which artists have committed suicide because they cannot stand online violence. This kind of behavior of vicious comments, slander, and slander by online violent elements to force artists to go to a dead end is called "finger killing". "Finger killing" is becoming a social problem in South Korea.
Shirley's suicide shocked Korean society. Figure according to South Korea SBS
In the past decade or so, many famous Korean artists have committed suicide due to online violence in order to find relief. For example, the actress and singer who debuted in the KBS series "Adults Don't Understand Young People" u; Nee, model and actor Kim Ji-ho-in, famous female artist Choi Jin-jin, etc. They can only choose to suffer silently and alone. On the other hand, brokerage firms are often powerless against online violence.
After the news of Shirley's suicide broke, all the artists in her agency announced that they were postponing the works or performances that were scheduled for recent releases. The famous Korean idol boy band Super Junior also announced the cancellation of the live broadcast of the return performance "the super clap" scheduled for the evening on the day of Shirley's suicide. Tae Yeon, a member of "Girls' Generation", has postponed her return date because of Shirley's death. Teammates Amber and Luna, who once sang the group "f(x)" with Shirley, also announced a suspension of the event at the same time.
On October 2, 2008, the famous Korean female artist Choi Jin-jin committed suicide. The outside world believes that her death has a lot to do with online violence.
Some argue that these first-line artists in South Korea have adopted a shutdown after Shirley's death, not only to mourn Shirley, but mainly to protest the severe online violence in South Korea in a silent way.
Promote the "Shirley Act" to combat online violence
As South Korean society pays attention to online violence, more and more voices are calling on the government to enact relevant laws to combat online violence. Shortly after Shirley's death, some netizens petitioned on the official website of the Blue House of the South Korean presidential palace, demanding the implementation of real names on the Internet to stop malicious messages on the Internet. The subject of the petition is "demanding severe punishment for the malicious attackers who killed Shirley."
The sponsors of the petition said the tragedy would continue if the punishment for malicious attackers on the internet was not strengthened, so the government should amend the law to increase the punishment for malicious attackers. The petition was quickly responded to by more than 200,000 South Koreans.
On the other hand, South Korean parliamentarians have also begun to act. First, Park Seung-ke, a lawmaker from South Korea's opposition Party for the Future, called online for "amending some laws to protect and promote the use and development of information networks." Park Jong-so, a lawmaker for the former ruling Liberal Korea Party, also called for "changes to the law to tighten penalties for online violence to achieve eradication effects." This series of bills is thought to eventually be named after Shirley — the Shirley Act, which specifically combats all kinds of online violence.
At the same time, South Korean internet companies have also realized that they can no longer let online violence go unchecked, and have taken countermeasures. At the end of October this year, Kakao, the operator of Daum, South Korea's second-largest portal, announced that it would close the comments section below all news about artists. Until then, web users could comment at will under these news. Website operators will actively delete and block malicious comments.
In addition, Naver, South Korea's largest portal, has also developed an artificial intelligence (AI) recognition system that can automatically delete malicious comments and applied it to all news comments. Previously, naver used a hidden technique, and those identified malicious comment keywords could not be displayed in the comments.
Artists protect themselves with the law
Artists who have suffered online violence are now beginning to learn how to take countermeasures to protect themselves. The Korean Singers Association has issued guidelines for all Korean artists on how to deal with malicious slander and slander on the Internet.
The current president, Li Ziyan, who is also a singer herself, said: "We will do our best to protect singers from being attacked by online violence. If those portals continue to sit idly by and remain indifferent to online violence, we will call on all Korean artists to boycott them through various forms of activity. In addition, the Korean Singers Association also said that it will set up a consultation window and a victim reporting center related to online violence within the association.
At the same time, South Korea has also begun to prosecute those who are violent on the Internet. In May 2016, two online thugs defamed and slandered under news reports by South Korean comedian Yoo Sang-woo. Liu Xiangyou took the two men to court. Recently, the court sentenced the two cybervrists to compensate Liu Xiangyou for 700,000 won and 300,000 won for damages to his reputation and spirit, respectively.
Another prominent female entertainer who has appeared frequently in movies and TV series has also recently sought a lawyer to take a cybervrist who often slanders her to court. The online violence often spreads rumors about her marriage and children under the news about her.
As many famous artists stand up, more and more artists in South Korea's literary and art circles say that they will no longer continue to choose to escape with death, but present a new posture of fighting online violence to the end.
Red Star News reporter Jiang Yijin luo tian compiled the report
Edited by Zhang Xun