[Asia Economy (Yeoju) = Reporter Lee Younggyu] Lawyers have stepped forward to root out "COVID-19 fake news" related to Gyeonggi Province and Governor Lee Jaemyung.
Lawyers Baek Jongdeok, Choi Jeongmin, and Seo Seongmin announced on June 2 that they have launched the "COVID-19 Fake News Countermeasures Task Force" to block the spread of false information (fake news) about Gyeonggi Province and its governor. They noted that the dissemination of such false information has reduced public focus on COVID-19 prevention efforts and has led to frequent acts that threaten the safety of residents.
The task force has been set up at the office of lawyer Baek Jongdeok in Yeoju City and began operating an online reporting center (https://bit.ly/코로나19_가짜뉴스_신고센터) on a permanent basis starting that day. In particular, the task force includes legal experts as its core members, along with SNS experts, young people, and other volunteers.
Going forward, the task force plans to identify and strictly punish individuals who maliciously and habitually spread fake news online. As its first action, the task force has decided to file complaints on June 4 against 37 individuals involved in the dissemination of fake news so far.
The fake news subject to these complaints includes: ▲ rumors of conflict between the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Gyeonggi Province ▲ allegations that the governor is a member of the Shincheonji Church ▲ and claims that the governor murdered a friend of 30 years, among others.
Baek Jongdeok, co-head of the task force, stated, "The malicious fake news that is being systematically produced and disseminated is completely devoid of rational and objective judgment." He pointed out, "If the rumor that the governor murdered a friend of 30 years were true, it would mean that a person who had already died was resurrected two weeks later to send a text message to the governor. In reality, these are two separate incidents that have been stitched together as one."
He added, "We formed the task force to eradicate malicious and habitual fake news so that Gyeonggi Province and its governor can focus their efforts on disease prevention," and continued, "I believe the launch of this task force is in the public interest of Gyeonggi Province's 13.7 million residents."
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