Sicheong Station Tragedy 'Tomato Juice' Mockery... Why Does Social Disaster Victim Desecration Continue?[After Deadline]

Mars Explosion and Itaewon Tragedy Also Saw
Posts with Insulting, Hateful, and Ridiculing Expressions
Unrestrained Flood of Immoral Remarks Without Sanctions
Unclear Boundaries of Caution Levels
Reflects Psychology Seeking Attention and Focus

Editor's Note‘After Deadline’ delivers in-depth stories online that could not be fully covered in print. Moving beyond breaking news, straight reports, and brief articles that everyone remembers as results, it presents the background stories, issues and discussion points, pros and cons, along with various visual materials.

Amid the tragic accident at Seoul City Hall Station where 9 people died in a reverse-running train collision, a note reading “Those who became tomato juice” was left at the memorial site, sparking outrage. This mocking message is a disgraceful insult to the victims, and the police have begun tracking the author, citing criminal charges such as insult under the Criminal Act and defamation of the deceased.

On the 4th, an online community and social media posted a message titled "Shocking Mockery at the Site of the Sicheong Station Disaster." Among the flowers and condolence messages, one paper reads, "Praying for the souls of those who have become tomato juice." This photo has spread through portals and media reports, causing shock. (Source: Online Community)

On online communities and social media, a post titled “Shocking Mocking Message at the Scene of the City Hall Station Disaster” was uploaded on the 4th. Among the condolence flowers and memorial messages, one paper reads, “Praying for the souls of those who became tomato juice.” This photo has spread through portals and media reports, causing shock.

Secondary harm followed. According to the police, from the 2nd, the day after the accident, some netizens left comments such as “Good die” and “Bowling day” targeting the victims. The latter compares the victims being hit by a vehicle that invaded the sidewalk to bowling. These posts have all been deleted, seemingly aware of the police investigation announcement.

Insult and Hate Posts Repeated During Hwaseong Explosion, Itaewon Disaster, and Sewol Ferry Tragedy

The problem is that such hateful expressions insulting the deceased or their families have repeatedly occurred during major disasters or social calamities.

Right after the fire disaster at a lithium battery manufacturing plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province on the 24th of last month (23 deaths), posts appeared online saying things like “Shouldn’t they just die?” and “Those kinds of people.” Posts mocking the Itaewon disaster on October 29, 2022, which resulted in 159 deaths and became a social disaster, by calling it “Pressure day” and “Hotteok day” also caused controversy. Photos comparing the victims of the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking to “fish cakes” shocked many.

Psychologists analyze this phenomenon as a ‘disinhibition effect’ caused by the unchecked flood of hate, discrimination, and disgraceful expressions in online communities.

The disinhibition effect is a psychological term meaning that observing models who engage in aggressive behavior without punishment lowers the inhibition against aggressive behavior. Professor Lee Su-jeong of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University explained in a phone interview with this paper, “Because high-level remarks online are rampant without regulation, even words that should be ‘at the boundary of caution’ are recklessly used. Since the legal standards for hate speech are unclear, it seems that insults against the deceased, which should never be done, have progressed.”

Disgraceful Remarks Flood Online Without Sanctions... Boundaries of Caution Become Unclear

A photo comparing the victims of the Sewol ferry sinking accident in 2014 to 'eomuk' (fish cake) also caused shock. (Source=Online Community)

There is also an interpretation that the desire to attract attention and be rewarded through disgraceful remarks has been maximized. This behavior is similar to that of ‘cyber wreckers’?people who publicize others’ misfortunes, accidents, mistakes, flaws, or faults mainly in video form on the internet to gain benefits. The primary motive of cyber wreckers is to attract attention, so they are insensitive to others’ pain and ethical standards.

Professor Kwak Geum-ju of Seoul National University’s Department of Psychology said in a phone interview, “It stems from the speaker’s psychology of wanting to show ‘I see this sad event differently’ from the majority of the community members who mourn, seeking superiority or uniqueness in that way. It is a kind of social deviant behavior.”

Conflicts with Freedom of Expression, but Regulatory Standards Must Be Established Through Public Discourse

Therefore, calls are growing to establish regulatory standards for hate speech. Although there have been various attempts to regulate hate speech domestically, it has been difficult to set clear standards, and the issue has failed to pass the National Assembly amid debates over ‘freedom of expression.’

In fact, constitutional provisions related to ‘hate speech regulation’ have conflicting points. Article 21, Paragraph 1 and Article 22, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution emphasize freedom of expression, while Article 21, Paragraph 4 and Article 37, Paragraph 2 emphasize the possibility of restriction by law for ‘not infringing on social ethics.’ Professor Lee said, “Currently, there are no clear or concrete standards to impose even fines for hate speech. Once hate speech appears, there is concern about a vicious cycle where they promote each other.”

Meanwhile, the police have launched an internal investigation and criminal investigation into repeated dissemination or posting of secondary harm posts targeting victims of the City Hall Station vehicle collision accident. Regarding controversial online bulletin boards, they plan to request deletion and access blocking measures from the Korea Communications Standards Commission.