Yang Jeongsuk: "60% of Illegal Weapon Videos Detected by the Korea Communications Standards Commission Are on YouTube"

28% of Correction Measures Taken Among Deliberations Over 5 Years

Yang Jeong-suk

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] It has been revealed that 60% of videos dealing with online illegal weapon information detected by the Korea Communications Standards Commission were produced through YouTube. However, only 28% of these cases subject to review resulted in corrective actions, highlighting the need for more thorough management.

According to data submitted by the Korea Communications Standards Commission (hereinafter referred to as KCSC) to Yang Jeong-suk, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee (Independent), from 2017 to the end of July 2021, out of 5,013 cases reviewed related to the provision of online illegal weapon information over the past five years, only 1,415 cases, or 28%, resulted in corrective actions.

Looking at the total number of corrective actions related to online illegal weapons, there were ▲255 cases in 2017 ▲440 cases in 2018 ▲292 cases in 2019 ▲416 cases in 2020. This year, due to issues with the formation of the 5th KCSC, only 12 cases were corrected as reviews were not properly conducted.

By type of service provider during the same period, YouTube accounted for the highest number with 861 cases, representing more than 60% of the total 1,415 cases. This was followed by ▲Naver with 16 cases ▲Kakao (Daum) with 10 cases ▲Facebook with 9 cases ▲Twitter with 4 cases.

According to Yang Jeong-suk’s office, although YouTube operates its own content monitoring system, only about 1% of videos deleted in 2019 were Korean content, indicating that management and monitoring of actual Korean content are insufficient.

Yang Jeong-suk stated, “In South Korea, a country known for being gun-free, firearms are openly manufactured and distributed, threatening public safety,” adding, “Information on weapon manufacturing and distribution online could potentially lead to large-scale casualties, so rapid monitoring and immediate action are necessary.”

Yang also said, “Although YouTube operates its own monitoring system, information about homemade bombs registered in 2017 has not been deleted even after four years, raising doubts about whether the monitoring system is functioning properly,” and emphasized, “Platforms should also establish and operate ‘User Committees’ similar to broadcasting to review harmful information themselves and manage such content.”