By Lee Kyung-min

The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that the organizer of the Boryeong Mud Festival must pay compensation of 3 million won to a woman for using her photo in promotional materials without her consent.

The woman, surnamed Jeong, 33, attended the annual festival on three different occasions. In May 2013, she discovered that she appeared on the poster advertising that year's festival. The poster was used in a variety of places, including subway stations in Seoul and Boryeong city's Facebook page.

In the photo, she was pictured covered with mud and sitting on a man's shoulders.

The festival organizer also distributed the photo to the media as part of its press releases, and Jeong's image appeared on news websites and various blogs.

Jeong subsequently filed suit with Uijeongbu District Court against the city government, the festival organizer and the photographer, demanding they pay 20 million won in compensation.

The district court ruled against her, saying posting her picture was not for financial gain.

However, an appellate court ruled in her favor, saying she suffered embarrassment as the photo was made public without her consent. It added that the defendants did not make any effort to get her permission prior to using the image.

The defendants claimed the photo was not used in pursuit of profit but for the public good, but the top court rejected that claim.

In a related suit, a local court dismissed Jeong's demand for compensation from media companies that used the photo.

Jeong claimed the companies damaged her reputation, but the court said they were not responsible as they did not make the poster, rather they used the press releases that were distributed by the festival organizers.