Republic of Korea - December 2025

On 30 December, South Korea’s cabinet approved the promulgation of a bill aimed at preventing the spread of ‘false or fabricated information.’ The revised Information and Communications Network Act introduces harsher penalties, including substantial fines and punitive damages, for news outlets or individuals found to have posted false information. Critics argue that the law is too ambiguous as to how fake news will be defined, shifting the responsibility to decide from courts to platforms and regulators. Media unions, journalists and civil society groups have cautioned that the changes  encourage self-censorship and may incentivize platforms’ to remove lawful content and introduce a chilling effect on free expression and the press. The law is scheduled to take effect in July 2026. 

Sources: The Korea Herald, The Korea Times, Digital Watch Observatory, International Press Institute, Deutsche Welle