Series of High-Profile Suicides Puts Focus on Internet Culture
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One of Korea's top celebrities was found dead in her home Thursday morning apparently having committed suicide.
She was celebrated actress Choi Jin-sil who just a few days ago pressed charges against a woman she had never met for posting vicious rumors about her on the Internet.
The rumors which spread like wildfire accused the actress of running a loan-sharking operation that drove another celebrity to kill himself after falling heavily in debt.
What shocked Koreans was the fact that the cash-strapped celebrity was none other than the husband of Choi's close friend.
Police say the actress sent a series of mobile text messages to her family and friends in the hours before her apparent suicide.
In those messages she said she was deeply saddened by how she was being treated by the public and asked them to take good care of her two children.
Choi's acting career dates back to the '80s when she was the reigning queen of Korean soap operas and appeared in scores of lucrative advertisements.
Internet message boards were filled with words of condolence while local news reported that Internet portals closely monitored postings deleting those that were potentially libelous.
This is not the first time Koreans have been hit with news of celebrity suicides.
In 2005 celebrated actress Lee Eun-joo killed herself reportedly unable to cope with depression.
Two years later two more celebrities a popular singer and another actress commanding a cult following committed suicide in the span of just two months.
A common factor is that they all suffered from depression after becoming the targets of vicious rumors on the Internet.
The suicides prompted the government to strengthen punitive measures involving libel on the Internet.
The government plans to require all users of Internet forums and chat rooms to register using their real names.
In addition, the Korea Communications Commission plans to require Web sites to remove articles that receive complaints for containing groundless rumors or libelous information.
Regulators have yet to finalize what penalties violators will face.
Sam Len, Arirang News.
She was celebrated actress Choi Jin-sil who just a few days ago pressed charges against a woman she had never met for posting vicious rumors about her on the Internet.
The rumors which spread like wildfire accused the actress of running a loan-sharking operation that drove another celebrity to kill himself after falling heavily in debt.
What shocked Koreans was the fact that the cash-strapped celebrity was none other than the husband of Choi's close friend.
Police say the actress sent a series of mobile text messages to her family and friends in the hours before her apparent suicide.
In those messages she said she was deeply saddened by how she was being treated by the public and asked them to take good care of her two children.
Choi's acting career dates back to the '80s when she was the reigning queen of Korean soap operas and appeared in scores of lucrative advertisements.
Internet message boards were filled with words of condolence while local news reported that Internet portals closely monitored postings deleting those that were potentially libelous.
This is not the first time Koreans have been hit with news of celebrity suicides.
In 2005 celebrated actress Lee Eun-joo killed herself reportedly unable to cope with depression.
Two years later two more celebrities a popular singer and another actress commanding a cult following committed suicide in the span of just two months.
A common factor is that they all suffered from depression after becoming the targets of vicious rumors on the Internet.
The suicides prompted the government to strengthen punitive measures involving libel on the Internet.
The government plans to require all users of Internet forums and chat rooms to register using their real names.
In addition, the Korea Communications Commission plans to require Web sites to remove articles that receive complaints for containing groundless rumors or libelous information.
Regulators have yet to finalize what penalties violators will face.
Sam Len, Arirang News.
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