Police Detain 10 Individuals for Creating and Distributing 'President Yoon Seok-yeol Spliced Video'

A fabricated video splicing together speeches from President Yoon Suk-yeol's presidential campaign was shared on social networking services (SNS), sparking controversy. It has been confirmed that the original creator has been identified and booked by the police.

According to the police on the 8th, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency booked a man in his 50s, Mr. A, the original creator of the video, on charges of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act. Additionally, nine others who distributed the video were also booked on the same charges.

They are accused of splicing together scenes from a TV speech President Yoon gave during his presidential campaign in February 2022 and posting it on SNS.

A spliced video of President Yoon Seok-yeol's speech that spread on SNS. It has now been blocked by the Korea Communications Standards Commission. [Image source=TikTok capture]

The 46-second video features President Yoon saying, "I, Yoon Suk-yeol, have clung to ideologies that deviate from common sense, ruining the Republic of Korea and causing suffering to the people." The Korea Communications Standards Commission has ordered the video to be blocked.

The police are continuing their investigation into the relationship between Mr. A and other distributors.

At a press briefing on the same day, Cho Ji-ho, Chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated, "We have identified and booked the creator and conducted a search and seizure. Three of the nine people who distributed the video have completed their investigations, and we plan to investigate the remaining six as well."