KCSC Intensively Monitors Fake News Related to 'New Coronavirus'

On the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 27th, the fourth confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) was reported in South Korea. On this day, a notice regarding Wuhan pneumonia prevention was displayed on the electronic billboard at Seoul Station. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) has decided to intensively monitor cases where misinformation unrelated to the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) that originated in Wuhan, China, is being indiscriminately spread.

On the 27th, the KCSC announced that it decided to conduct focused monitoring considering the very high risk of causing unnecessary social confusion by heightening public confusion and anxiety.

First, continuous monitoring will be conducted on information causing social confusion that is indiscriminately distributed by exploiting anonymity and rapid transmission. If such content is spread, it falls under content that is likely to cause significant social confusion as stipulated in Article 8 of the Information and Communications Review Regulations (violation of good morals and other social order), making it subject to correction requests.

The KCSC emphasized, "Information causing social confusion related to the novel coronavirus is highly likely to extend beyond online spaces to offline spaces, so voluntary self-purification efforts by internet users and operators are urgently needed."

Previously, fake news such as "a death due to novel coronavirus infection occurred in Incheon" spread mainly through internet communities and social networking services (SNS).