Strong Response Policy Against Malicious Reporting or Dissemination of False Information
The National Election Commission filed a complaint with the police against a media company and a reporter for defamation and obstruction of official duties, alleging that "99 Chinese spies were arrested at the Election Training Center on the day of the emergency martial law on December 3rd."
On the 20th, the Election Commission stated in a press release, "We filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency today for violations of the Criminal Act, the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, and the Framework Act on Telecommunications, and also requested a correction from the Korea Press Arbitration Commission."
The Election Commission explained, "The accused reported and disseminated on January 16 and 17 through their media company and YouTube channel that on December 3, 2024, the day of the emergency martial law, the martial law forces, in joint operations with the U.S. military, arrested 99 Chinese spies at the Election Training Center, handed them over to the U.S. side, transferred them to the U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan, and that during interrogation, the Chinese spies fully confessed to election interference." However, the Election Commission stated, "The claim that '99 Chinese spies were arrested at the Election Training Center' is a clear falsehood." They further explained, "On the day of martial law, the Election Training Center was conducting training courses for 50 officials scheduled for promotion to grade 5 and 69 grade 6 officials, with a total of 96 people staying overnight, including 88 public officials and 8 external instructors."
The Election Commission emphasized, "The accused reported and disseminated false information with specific details by citing 'reliable U.S. sources' without going through accurate fact-checking procedures such as interviewing the Election Commission," adding, "This behavior abandoned the fundamental responsibility of the media to verify facts and provide accurate reporting, and exploited the influence of the media and the propagation power of the internet to publish false information." They pointed out, "Through the sharing of this by YouTubers who sympathized, Election Commission staff were stigmatized as Chinese spies, and the public was led to believe that the Election Commission was complicit in election fraud." Additionally, the Election Commission noted, "To clarify this false report, a significant amount of time and manpower has been spent explaining the facts to political parties, media personnel, and responding to numerous protest calls and complaints, thereby obstructing the Election Commission’s primary duties of election management."
The Election Commission stated, "The accused amplified suspicions of election fraud by reporting or disseminating false information without efforts to verify facts, thereby inciting social division," and added, "We judged that severe punishment is necessary for such actions and have filed complaints against the media company and reporter with investigative authorities and requested corrections from the Korea Press Arbitration Commission. We will continue to respond strongly to any malicious reporting or dissemination of false information in the future."
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