On the 10th, the funeral hall at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, was prepared as the resting place for the late Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul. / Provided by Seoul City
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police have decided to take strict action against illegal activities such as the spread of rumors related to the death of the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and the 'doxxing' of the accuser. Unverified information has been indiscriminately disseminated online, raising concerns about defamation and secondary harm.
According to the police on the 11th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated on the previous day, "We plan to strictly take action according to the law and principles against acts that damage the reputation of those involved in the case or threaten them by spreading unverified information related to Mayor Park's accusation case." The police also requested cooperation to prevent secondary damage such as defamation and exposure of personal information of those involved in the case.
Following the news of Mayor Park's death and the sexual harassment accusation, unverified rumors and fake news spread indiscriminately on the internet and social networking services (SNS). Some netizens even caused secondary harm by identifying specific individuals as the accuser.
In particular, a photo of an employee completely unrelated to this case was circulated online, prompting the Seoul City government to announce a strong response policy. Seoul City explained, "The photo in question is from a past Seoul City event and is rapidly spreading on the internet without fact-checking," adding, "The employee appearing in the photo has never worked in the Seoul Mayor's Secretariat." It is known that the employee has submitted a complaint to the Seoul Cyber Investigation Unit.
Meanwhile, based on on-site investigation, autopsy results, family statements, and the contents of the will, the police concluded that there is no suspicion of homicide in Mayor Park's death and handed over the body to the family without an autopsy.
The case in which Mayor Park was accused of sexual harassment by a former secretary is expected to be closed as "no prosecution" due to Mayor Park's death.
Earlier, on the 9th at around 10:44 a.m., Mayor Park left the mayoral residence located in Gahoe-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and lost contact. On the same day at 5:17 p.m., Mayor Park's daughter reported to 112, and after a seven-hour search operation by the police and fire authorities, the body was found near Samcheonggak on Bukaksan Mountain at 12:01 a.m. on the 10th.
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