The sudden death of popstar Sulli shocked many here in South Korea, leading to much soul-searching on the issue of online bullying and internet trolls targeting celebrities.
And Korea's number two portal site has decided take a stand.
Oh Soo-young fills us in.
Korea's second largest search engine is taking action against online trolls and cyberbullying,... which often causes sensationalism that affects celebrities in particular.
Internet firm Daum Kakao on Friday announced in a press conference that it plans to remove keywords related to individuals from its "trending" list on the Kakao Messenger platform.
It will also stop accepting comments on celebrity news by the end of October.
By the end of the year, the Daum online search engine,... will no longer suggest keywords related to individuals.
The company says the decision was made in order to prevent the spread of content that could negatively affect individuals' personal lives and reputation.
The new policy comes after former K-Pop girl group singer Sulli this month died aged 25,... following widely publicised struggles with anxiety and online trolls attacking her personal life and social media posts.
Many of her fans and other celebrities have blamed cyberbullying for her death, which is widely thought to have been from suicide.
Some have called on internet giants with search engines and news sections, like Naver and Daum Kakao, to weed out online bullies and malicious comments from their platforms.
But this raises the issue of free speech and freedom of expression.
Experts say wider public discussion is needed about where to draw the line.
"We, as a society, need to clarify the standards of a malicious comment. What kind of comments hurt individuals' dignity and personal lives, rather than simply express an opinion. This not only applies to celebrities but to other sensitive issues such as politics."
Daum Kakao says it will continue to revise its policies to scrap users' comments and autofill suggestions that could provoke hate speech and violate the dignity of individuals.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.
