"Water Park-ne" Far-Right Netizens Mock Gwangju Flood Disaster

"Punish Ilbe Users Severely" Petition Appears on Blue House Website

On the morning of the 10th, about 100 vehicles in an apartment complex in Buk-gu, Gwangju, were submerged in the underground parking lot. After two days, the water receded, revealing vehicles covered in mud.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Amid massive damage caused by record-breaking heavy rains that submerged various parts of Gwangju Metropolitan City, a far-right community has sparked controversy by mocking the situation in Gwangju as a "water park." Some netizens referred to a flooded columbarium as "Seolleongtang" (ox bone soup), while even mocking a young child who died in the heavy rains, causing public outrage.

According to JTBC on the 10th, the far-right community "Ilgan Best Storage (Ilbe)" ridiculed Gwangju, which suffered damage from the heavy rains, by calling it a "water park."

The report states that the community used derogatory terms for President Moon Jae-in and the late former President Roh Moo-hyun while mocking the citizens of Gwangju affected by the heavy rains.

Photo by Screenshot of the far-right community site 'Ilgan Best Jeojangso'.

In particular, Ilbe netizens mocked the flooded Gwangju columbarium with comments such as "Seolleongtang... ancestors are all smiles," "Sending them to a water park because it's summer," and "Made a swimming pool because it's hot," and even targeted an 8-year-old child who died in the heavy rains for ridicule.

In response, a petition demanding severe punishment for Ilbe users was posted on the Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae) National Petition Board.

On the same day, a post titled "Demanding severe punishment for Ilbe user xxx who mocked the 8-year-old child who died in the heavy rains in Damyang, Jeollanam-do" was uploaded to the Blue House National Petition Board. As of 7:15 a.m. on the 11th, the petition had garnered over 15,900 signatures.

The petitioner opened by saying, "In the past few days, not only Jeolla Province but the entire country has been going through a very difficult time due to the heavy rains," and added, "Where the disaster swept through, lives have been shattered and some have lost their beloved family members. Many people are working hard on recovery and offering comfort."

He continued, "Regardless of this, there is a group below human dignity that, as if it were a festival, brutally stabs the natural disaster of heavy rains in Honam and the resulting casualties with the treasonous knife of regional animosity, killing the victims twice or thrice. That group is Ilbe."

He earnestly requested the president, saying, "I sincerely ask the President. Ilbe's incitement of regional animosity does not unite the Republic of Korea," and emphasized, "I hope that a thorough investigation will be conducted on Ilbe users who kill victims multiple times with posts inciting regional animosity during this disaster caused by heavy rains, so that regional animosity and regional disparagement can no longer take root in Korea."

Meanwhile, Gwangju City experienced over 500mm of concentrated heavy rain from the 7th to the 8th, causing not only casualties but also 1,041 cases of property damage in public and private facilities. The number of disaster victims was tentatively counted at 433 people in 282 households.