Police Riot Squad Deployed Near School
Search Warrant Requested to Verify Personal Information
A threatening message saying "I will kill them all" was posted in an elementary school parents' group chat, prompting the police to launch an investigation.
According to the Incheon Western Police Station on the 11th, at around 9:55 a.m. that day, a parent from an elementary school in Seo-gu, Incheon, reported to 112 that a threatening message had been posted in the parents' volunteer group KakaoTalk chatroom.
A threatening message saying "I will kill them all" was posted in an elementary school parents' group chat, threatening the children, prompting the police to launch an investigation. [Photo by Yonhap News]
It was confirmed that at around 9:35 a.m. in the chatroom, a message stating "I will kill all the children when they go to and from school. I will get the coordinates of ○○ Elementary School and kill all the children" was posted along with a photo of a hand holding a car steering wheel.
The group chat is known to be a public chatroom for parents volunteering to assist with children's commuting to and from school.
The school also strengthened guidance for students' dismissal and decided not to operate after-school classes on that day. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Upon receiving the report, the police immediately deployed three patrol cars to the elementary school and nearby middle and high schools, and plan to add 20 riot police and 5 foot patrol officers.
The school also decided to strengthen guidance for students leaving school and not to operate after-school classes that day.
A police official stated, "We have significantly increased patrol personnel around the school area in preparation for any possible situation," and added, "We plan to apply for a search warrant to verify the identity of the person who posted the message in the chatroom."
'Open Chat' Becoming a Hotbed of Crime
Meanwhile, there are concerns that crimes are spreading through KakaoTalk Open Chat, which has no regulations.
'KakaoTalk Open Chat' is a type of KakaoTalk service that allows anyone to chat anonymously without age restrictions. Group chats and 1:1 chatrooms can be created based on specific keywords, and users can search keywords to join chatrooms.
According to data from the National Police Agency, sexual crimes such as producing and distributing child sexual exploitation materials, posting sexual insults, and obscene content occur through Kakao Open Chat.
The biggest problem is the lack of regulation on platforms like KakaoTalk that provide both real-name and anonymous services. In the case of random chat apps, harmful media designation and identity verification can block youth access, but this is not possible with KakaoTalk Open Chat because it is a service within the KakaoTalk platform.
KakaoTalk Open Chat does have features like saving and reporting. However, these are post-incident measures that require victims to prove harm after a crime has occurred, making it difficult to expect crime prevention and preemptive blocking.
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