A malicious commenter, identified only as A, received a harsher sentence of four months in prison, suspended for one year, along with one year of probation and 80 hours of community service after being convicted of criminal insult against South Korean singer-songwriter and actress IU.

According to the Seoul Central District Court's appellate division on 31 May (KST), A continued to deny the charges throughout the appeal proceedings and showed no signs of remorse.

The court also noted that the defendant had not been forgiven by IU and had repeatedly committed similar offenses, indicating a significant risk of reoffending.

In addition, the court stated that the defendant continued to refer to IU using derogatory terms such as "fraud" and "mentally ill."

As a result, A received a harsher sentence than the initial 3 million won fine imposed for posting four malicious online comments targeting IU.

The appellate court further revealed that, during the appeal process, the case was merged with a separate prosecution involving similar comments posted by the same defendant, resulting in an additional 3 million won fine.

According to the court, the final sentence took several mitigating factors into account, including the defendant's diagnosis of intractable epilepsy, which may have affected emotional regulation, as well as the fact that the offending comments were eventually deleted.