Police to Conduct Special Crackdown on Illegal Private Newsletters Distribution Until July

Creating Economic Anxiety... Police to Respond Strictly

The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 11th that it will conduct a special crackdown on illegal private newsletters and the dissemination of false information online for two months, from the 15th of this month to July 14.

On the 4th, the signboard of the National Investigation Headquarters hung at the Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency. From this year, the police organization has been divided into national, autonomous, and investigative police, and with the abolition of the prosecutor's investigation command authority, the police have gained the primary investigation conclusion authority. As a result, the National Investigation Headquarters, which oversees investigations, is receiving significant attention. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The National Investigation Headquarters views the spread of various false information as causing public anxiety and is stepping up enforcement. The main targets of the crackdown are the publication and distribution of unregistered and unreported periodicals, as well as defamation, credit damage, and obstruction of business through the internet and social networking services (SNS).

The police stated that with the recent development of various online content and platforms such as social networking services (SNS), the spread of false information about celebrities and public figures has increased. Consequently, complaints and accusations related to defamation, insult, and other offenses have been on the rise every year.

According to the Information and Communications Network Act, the number of defamation cases increased by 9.0%, from 11,347 cases in 2021 to 12,377 cases in 2022, while insult cases also rose by 15.7%, from 21,412 cases to 23,464 cases during the same period.

The National Investigation Headquarters has formed a task force (TF) led by the head of the investigation bureau to strictly crack down on the dissemination of false information through illegal private newsletters, the internet, and SNS. The police added that they will respond strictly to malicious and repeated acts of spreading false information.

Woo Jong-su, head of the National Investigation Headquarters, said, "With the recent development of the internet and communications, cleverly fabricated false information spreads rapidly and can lead to serious crimes that cause social and economic anxiety. We will correct various acts of spreading false information to protect the lives of the public and contribute to restoring trust among members of society."