"800,000 Won Fine for Disposing a Pen in Standard Garbage Bags?"... Government Responds Amid Public Outcry Over Massive Fines

Ministry Denies Claims of Stricter Enforcement and Higher Fines
False Information in AI-Generated Videos Spreads, Causing Public Confusion

Recently, claims that "waste separation enforcement has been strengthened and fines amounting to hundreds of thousands of won are being imposed" have been spreading, particularly on YouTube. However, despite the fact that the government has neither changed related guidelines nor strengthened enforcement, videos created by artificial intelligence (AI) are circulating, causing increased confusion among citizens.

Fake news videos related to waste separation created by artificial intelligence (AI). YouTube

On October 20, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment issued an official statement, saying, "This is not true," and clarified, "We have not revised the waste separation guidelines this year, nor have we requested local governments to strengthen enforcement."

Recently, a series of videos have been uploaded to YouTube claiming that "waste separation enforcement has been strengthened nationwide, resulting in a surge of cases where people are hit with massive fines." In one video, which appears to have been produced using AI, a person claiming to have worked in a district office’s environmental department for 25 years asserts, "I have seen cases where people were fined 200,000 won for disposing of ramen or snack wrappers in standard garbage bags, 90,000 won for throwing away unwashed tofu containers, and 800,000 won for discarding a pen."

The video has received over 600 comments, and many viewers believed its content to be factual, expressing critical reactions such as "The waste separation rules are too complicated" and "The authorities are enforcing regulations excessively."

The ministry stated, "We have not revised the waste separation guidelines this year, nor have we requested local governments to strengthen enforcement or raised the standards for imposing fines." The ministry also urged citizens to check the official waste separation website (분리배출.kr) for regulations specific to their residential area.