Police charge man over explicit post targeting Lee Jun-seok under Sexual Violence Punishment Act

A man identified as A was handed over to prosecutors by the Seoul Gangseo Police Station without detention in late January, accused of violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act for posting explicit comments online that referenced the real name of the head of the Reformist New Party, Lee Jun-seok. The case centers on comments circulated on social media last October.

Investigators say A wrote an obscene post on a social network using the leader’s mother’s real name and including sexualized phrases, such as references to “chopsticks.” The charges allege that the online remarks constitute sexual content transmitted via a communications medium.

The allegations come amid broader controversy surrounding Lee Jun-seok, who in May last year drew scrutiny for remarks at a presidential debate that included phrases about a woman’s body and the word “chopsticks.” Lee has maintained that his remarks were a quotation of comments reportedly posted by the son of President-elect Lee Jae-myung on an online bulletin board, not a factual claim about the candidate.

A reportedly told police that he wrote the post to inflict the same level of humiliation on the supporter he believed the politician had caused, aiming to replicate the impact of the remarks he perceived. Police officials said that under Supreme Court precedents, seeking psychological satisfaction can be considered a sexual motive, and therefore the act falls under the law.

Separately, police announced in November last year that they would not forward seven complaints against Lee Jun-seok to prosecutors. Civic groups had accused him of defaming a candidate and spreading false information, but police said the remarks were not easily classified as false and that there was insufficient evidence to establish defamation.

Lee Jun-seok’s legal representative, attorney Kim Yeon-gi, said the police decision reflected a proper investigative outcome. The case highlights how online harassment and sexually explicit content intersect with political speech in South Korea, and it underscores the challenges governments face in regulating digital discourse.

For international readers, the episode illustrates how online conduct can influence political narratives and how South Korea’s cyber and sexual-content laws are applied in high-profile political contexts. It also has implications for global social media platforms and foreign observers monitoring how online abuse and political rhetoric intersect with electoral processes in democracies allied with the United States.