[Photo by Namkung Jin-woong = timeid@ajunews.com]
South Korea's police chief vowed Monday to step up a crackdown on the sudden proliferation of fake news as a jolting corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-hye fanned rampant rumors and bitter political wrangling between rival groups.
National Police Agency head Lee Chul-sung said a task force has been set up in Seoul and provincial cities to monitor, track and probe fake news producers. No criminal charges have been filed yet, with one website closed and another put under surveillance by the Korea Communications Standards Commission.
"The act of intentionally and repetitively posting fake news about a particular individual with malicious intentions is subject to an investigation," Lee said, adding police would cooperate with state watchdogs to block or delete fake news.
Fake news websites deliberately publish hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be real news, often using social media to drive web traffic and amplify their effect. They seek to mislead readers for financial, political, or other gains.
Fake news was a hot political issue during a US election race. US authorities have accused Russia of spreading fake news as part of a broader effort to influence the election.
In South Korea, former UN chief Ban Ki-moon was the latest and most prominent victim of fake news. He announced his surprise decision on February 2 to give up his presidential bid, shocking many supporters because he was one of the top presidential contenders.
"The cause that led me to spearhead the transfer of power was lost among malicious political defamation and fake news which I think are tantamount to a social murder," he said, adding his political run has only hurt his image.
Two weeks before his withdrawal, Ban condemned fake news and fictitious articles about him at talks with young voters. "Young people, who have a lot of useful things to do, are very eager to create fake news to backbite others. This should be corrected. I'm not a politician but I've felt a strong need to do it."
South Korea could face an early presidential election as Park was impeached in parliament in December last year for her role in a corruption scandal involving her arrested crony Choi Soon-sil. If the constitutional court confirms Park's impeachment, the presidential election should be carried out within two months.
Ban, 72, emerged as a powerful presidential candidate after he returned home triumphantly on January 12. However, he had to face political attacks, malicious allegations and media criticism which he had never tasted before as a diplomat.
After Ban gave up his presidential ambitions, opposition leader Moon Jae-in has outshined other presidential hopefuls, but he also has been dogged by malicious rumors and groundless allegations spread mainly by conservative voters.
Kim Youn-mi, a 65-year-old Seoul resident, complained about growing news of unknown sources delivered to her via smartphone messenger app. "I receive messages containing links to unfamiliar web pages containing political news from my friends a few times a day."
"The news sometimes are very absurd and weird but I had no doubt on their origin as they were sent by my friends who probably received them from their friends," she said.
Lim Chang-won =cwlim34@ajunews.com and Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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