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Seoul church suspects cyberattack behind North Korean flag appearance in livestream

Published: 20 Jun. 2025, 08:52

The flag of North Korea [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

A North Korean flag appeared on the livestream of a major church service in Seoul, prompting an internal investigation by the church, which suspects the broadcast was hacked.

Onnuri Church, one of Korea's Presbyterian megachurches, said Thursday it had launched an urgent probe after a video of the North Korean flag interrupted its early morning worship service held at its Seobinggo campus in Yongsan, central Seoul, the previous day.

The incident occurred during a sermon delivered by Pastor Park Jong-gil on Wednesday morning. Roughly 20 seconds into the YouTube broadcast, the screen suddenly switched to an image of the North Korean flag accompanied by unidentified music, while the pastor’s audio was cut off.

Viewers who had tuned into the livestream quickly recorded the clip and shared it across YouTube and online communities, where it began circulating shortly after.

The Onnuri Church issued an apology after a North Korean flag was displayed during a livestream of a worship service on June 18. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Onnuri Church posted a formal apology on its website, describing the incident as a cyberattack.

“An unexpected video was streamed during the YouTube broadcast of the Seobinggo early morning worship service on June 18. We believe this was the result of a hacking incident,” the statement read. “We are currently investigating the source of the breach and will take all necessary steps as soon as we identify the cause.”

A church official told Yonhap News Agency by phone that the church reported the incident to authorities through its relevant department.

“As far as we know, there have been no threats or demands from external actors following the event,” the official said.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]