The police have assembled a nationwide investigative team to strongly respond to malicious posts targeting the victims and bereaved families of the Jeju Air plane tragedy. The prosecution will also respond with a 'zero tolerance policy.'
The Korean National Police Agency announced on the 2nd that a 'dedicated team to investigate malicious posts related to the Jeju Air plane accident' would be established within the cyber investigation units of city and provincial police agencies nationwide, with the Director General of the National Investigation Headquarters' Investigation Bureau serving as head.
Recently, reckless defamatory and fake news posts about the accident and bereaved families on online communities and social networking services (SNS) have been causing secondary harm to the families.
The task force, which was previously operated by the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency with a team of 25, will be expanded to 118 members and operated on a national scale. Each investigative team plans to strengthen monitoring of defamatory or insulting posts and videos related to the tragedy victims. Upon discovering illegal activities, investigations and inquiries will be initiated before formal booking, and related institutions will cooperate to delete the posts.
As of 5 p.m. on the day, preliminary investigations were conducted on four posts, and 64 complaints about malicious posts were submitted to the police's electronic complaint reporting system (ECRM).
A police official noted, 'For major malicious posts, suspects will be apprehended and handled aggressively, indicating a strong response.'
The prosecution also announced plans to respond with a zero tolerance policy to crimes such as defamation and insults targeting the bereaved families of the Jeju Air plane tragedy, in cooperation with the police.
Although direct investigations will not be conducted due to adjustments in police and prosecution investigative powers, procedures such as search and seizure warrants requested by the police will be processed expeditiously.
An official from the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office stated, 'As secondary harm to the bereaved families is spreading, we will do our utmost to protect the victims within the task force headquarters.'
Meanwhile, Jeollanam-do also requested the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters to take strong action against fake news, reflecting the demands of the bereaved families of the Jeju Air plane accident.
Recently, a post titled 'Only the bereaved families at Muan Airport hit the jackpot. They must be secretly grinning thinking about the compensation' was posted on an online community, causing shock. Additionally, there were internal revelations that a post mocking the bereaved families of the Jeju Air plane tragedy was uploaded in an online community where doctors are active.