"An elder in their 80s came to the counter and said they had had a transaction with NH NongHyup Bank for more than 30 years, demanding a long-term customer loyalty bonus of 350,000 won. When I told them our bank has no such program, they snapped, saying a NongHyup Bank employee had talked all about it on a YouTube broadcast and asked why I was lying to them. It was really perplexing."
Right after the Chuseok holiday ended, NH NongHyup Bank branches and unit NongHyup counters across the country were flooded with the same inquiry. The question, without exception, was how to apply for a long-term transaction customer loyalty bonus for those 60 and older. But NH NongHyup Bank has no program that pays separate cash to long-term transaction customers. How did fake news end up spreading?
The incident began with a YouTube video. On the 8th, a video was posted that, as of 3 p.m. on the 14th, has 320,000 views. The video features a fictional middle-aged man created with artificial intelligence (AI). He introduces himself as Director Kim Jae-han, in his 30th year at NH NongHyup Bank, and says he will share "a special benefit" that seniors 60 and older are missing.
He said that if you make good use of this benefit, you can receive from 500,000 won up to 1.8 million won annually. He then plausibly explains false information such as "If you are 65 or older, you can receive a preferential interest rate of 0.5%–1.2% when signing up for time deposits or installment savings," "If you are 70 or older, 10% of medical expenses is cashed back," "A support payment of 300,000 won per year is provided for senior health checkups," and "If you are 60 or older and a long-term transaction customer of 30 years or more, you are given 350,000 won in cash every year." He also said the benefit is first-come, first-served and that some branches end support on the 15th, so people should hurry. This is why anxious middle-aged customers rushed to inquire at the bank.
Those presumed to be middle-aged left comments on the video such as "Thank you for the valuable information" and "I'll go apply today. Thank you so much." They seemed to believe what the self-styled Director Kim said without a shred of doubt. But a closer look reveals more than a few oddities. It is suspicious that after working for 30 years the rank is Director, and the statement "Even employees may not know about this benefit, so don't give up" is also dubious. The comments section was full of warnings not to be deceived by the false information. They included remarks such as "They are staging a scam targeting seniors" and "My father sent me this video asking me to apply, and I'm speechless." Many comments also claimed to be from NongHyup employees urging people not to fall for fake news and to report it.
YouTube fake news that spreads false information targeting the middle-aged has surged rapidly in recent years. The apparent aim is to draw attention with enticing keywords such as cash-like support and loan interest rate reductions, increase views, and boost revenue. They mainly target the middle-aged because, compared with younger people, they are more easily swayed by fake news. As people age, digital literacy inevitably tends to be relatively lower.
The problem is that it is difficult to punish those who churn out fake news. An official at the Financial Supervisory Service said, "Because this is not a fraudulent act that obtains property such as money by deception, like voice phishing or illegal private lending, it is difficult to take separate measures." It is effectively a regulatory blind spot. Earlier, President Lee Jae-myung ordered the introduction of punitive damages for YouTube fake news in Aug. According to the State Council minutes, the president said, "We must fundamentally block acts of making money with fake news."