Two People Booked for 'COVID-19 Fake News', 8 Cases Investigated... Police "Strict Response"

The Seoul National University Hospital's in-house COVID-19 vaccination took place on the morning of the 4th at Seoul National University Hospital in Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Kim Yeon-su, the director of Seoul National University Hospital, is receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. 2021.03.04 Photo by Kim Yeon-su

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A solo YouTuber who spread the false claim that "COVID-19 vaccines alter human genes" and a person who posted flyers stating "The chip inserted in the COVID-19 vaccine will cause you to lose your life!" have been apprehended.

The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 4th that two individuals were booked in connection with fake news related to COVID-19 vaccines. The police have also launched investigations into eight cases of false information spread online, such as "The vaccine contains lung tissue from aborted fetuses" and "Getting vaccinated causes dementia." For 52 cases, deletion and blocking requests were made to portal sites and social media platforms like Facebook.

According to the police, as of the previous day, 178 cases involving 279 people have been apprehended for spreading false and manipulated information related to COVID-19. Among these, 131 cases involving 205 people were for spreading false information, and 47 cases involving 74 people were for personal information leaks. Twenty-three cases are currently under investigation, and deletion and blocking requests have been made for 753 false posts and related content.

The police plan to accelerate efforts to prevent derivative crimes related to vaccination. The main anticipated crime types include voice phishing demanding payment for vaccines, smishing impersonating vaccination notification texts, manufacturing and selling fake vaccines, and producing and selling forged vaccination certificates.

A police official urged, "If you discover malicious and organized false and manipulated information related to COVID-19 vaccines, please actively report and provide tips through the Police Cyber Crime Reporting System (ECRM)."