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Police act against fake news, defamation of Jeju Air crash victims, families

Published: 03 Jan. 2025, 15:32

Police officials leave Muan International Airport in Musan, South Jeolla, on Thursday after raiding the airport. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Fake news, conspiracy theories and defamatory statements targeting the victims and bereaved families of the Jeju Air crash have been spreading online, further traumatizing those affected by the tragedy.

Police are tracking down accounts spreading malicious content while deleting defamatory comments.

The South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency announced on Friday that it had sought raid warrants for six online accounts spreading defamatory and insulting content as of 8 p.m. Thursday. Three of these warrants have been approved, and the investigations are currently ongoing.

Separately, the police agency on Thursday booked four individuals for posting insulting content online.

One of the posts, uploaded on Dec. 29 and titled, “It’s a bonanza for the bereaved families,” reportedly contained statement like, “Families must be laughing inside thinking about receiving compensation.”

Another post, titled “They must receive a lot of money; that must be exciting,” similarly mocked the bereaved families.

Two other posts also directly targeted the victims, with one writing, “Why mourn for people who went abroad to have fun?” and another blatantly blaming the crash on the captain, claiming, “The crash happened because the captain was playing hero.”

The South Jeolla Police said it deleted 125 posts and comments that defamed or insulted the victims and their families as of Thursday.

A video claiming that a firefighter died in the line of duty while responding to the Jeju Air passenger plane was circulating online. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Some videos went viral with fake footage of the Jeju Air crash and were later deleted.

A video uploaded to YouTube titled "The Last Touch of Muan International Airport" depicted a firefighter perishing in the line of duty while responding to the Jeju Air crash, sparking sorrow among netizens. The video introduced the firefighter as Lee Joon-ho.

The National Fire Service, however, confirmed on Wednesday that the content was false and that the footage was created using AI. The video has since been removed from the platform.

Fake news has also targeted Park Han-shin, a representative of the bereaved families, falsely accusing him of being a “fake family member of the victim” and claiming he is politically biased due to alleged ties to the opposition Democratic Party.

Park Han-shin, a representative of the bereaved families of Jeju Air crash, speaks at Muan International Airport on Friday. [YONHAP]

Park’s daughter took to social media to addressed these rumors, pleading for an end to the attacks.

“It’s heartbreaking to see my father, who lost his brother in this crash, being called a fraud. I am so scared and worried that he might make a wrong choice,” she wrote, also sharing a passenger list to confirm her uncle’s identity as one of the victims.

She also shared a phone call between her and her father, which aired on local broadcaster MBC on Wednesday.

In the video, despite her tearful pleas for Park to step down from his position, Park replies in tears, saying, “I must do it because this is my brother’s last moment. I must do it, even if it’s hard. Don’t cry, my daughter.”

Kim Dae-sik, spokesperson for the ruling People Power Party, also confirmed Wednesday that Park is “a nonpolitical person who lost his brother in the accident” and asked the public to stop spreading false information about him and other bereaved families.

A restaurant owner near Muan Airport who filmed the crash has also been subjected to unfounded accusations. The 48-year-old individual, surnamed Lee, captured footage of the Jeju Air plane skidding off the runway and colliding with an embankment. The video has been widely used in news reports, but conspiracy theories have circulated online, alleging that Lee “knew about the accident beforehand.”

Seong Chang-kyung, a former KBS reporter and spokesperson for the Liberty Unification Party, further fueled these theories by posting a video on his channel, which has over 1 million subscribers. In the video, he suggested the crash might have been an act of terrorism, citing an unnamed expert who claimed that the calmness of the video-taker and the circumstances of the crash made this scenario plausible.

The video was deleted as of Friday.

A person reads messages honoring the victims of Jeju Air crash posted on a staircase in Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla, on Friday. [YONHAP]

A few individuals are using the tragedy to push divisive political narratives.

Jeon Kwang-hoon, a politician and pastor of Sarang Jeil Church, livestreamed on his YouTube channel on Sunday and ostensibly blamed the crash on what he termed “leftist culture," fueling controversy among many netizens.

“I’m sorry for those who passed away, but spiritually speaking, this is all due to Satan, who has gained power in the world. God allowed Satan to do this,” Jeon said in the video.

Other false rumors involved the plane’s captain, falsely claiming the captain was a woman and perpetuating sexist stereotypes such as, “Female captains lack the ability to handle emergencies.”

Cyber investigation teams across 16 other city and provincial police agencies are looking into approximately 64 online posts for defamation and insults.

“We will strictly investigate malicious crimes targeting the bereaved families to identify the suspects,” an official of the South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency said Friday.

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]