Mud fest organizer to compensate for illegal use of photo

An appeals court upheld an earlier ruling Tuesday that the media does not have to compensate a woman for publishing a poster containing her photo without her consent. But those who made the poster should compensate the woman, according to another ruling. 

The Seoul Central District Court rejected the 30-something woman’s appeal for financial compensation from five media outlets that published the poster containing the photo featuring her playing in the mud along with others, officials said. 

“Though the news outlets helped the photo go viral, it cannot be seen that the media used her photo for profit,” the court said.

The decision came after the Supreme Court ordered the organizer of Boryeong Mud Festival and a photographer to pay 3 million won ($2,600) as compensation for violating her portrait rights, upholding the lower court’s ruling. 

In 2013, the woman filed a suit seeking 20 million won in compensation, saying the photo showing her sitting on someone’s shoulders with mud on her body could create an impression that she is “badly behaved.”

The woman, who had participated in the festival three times, reportedly learned that the poster was being widely used, including on a subway, through her friends. 

The festival organizer, which released the poster to 140 media outlets and uploaded it on the website, made an appeal, explaining that it had used the photo to “promote the event for public good.” 

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)