By Kim Rahn
Police will crack down on operators of Internet sites showing methods of making homemade bombs or footage of them being tested. Those who post related writings on such online communities will also face criminal charges.
The measure came after a man was apprehended for detonating homemade explosives at Seoul Station and Seoul Express Bus Terminal last week. He told police that he learned how to make them through the Internet.
Officials of the Cyber Terror Response Center of the National Police Agency said Tuesday that they will crack down on online postings about bomb making.
“As people can easily obtain the explosive manufacturing process through online communities, it is feared that some of them may commit copycat crimes. We’ll take stern measures against such postings,” an officer said.
Police will enforce the law banning the plotting and encouragement of the use of explosives. Those violating the law are subject to at least two years in jail.
Not only those posting such methods on online communities but also those operating the communities will be subject to legal action, the officer added.
“Uploading articles about explosive making has been the target of crackdowns, but no one has been punished yet for only posting writings without the actual trading of bombs,” he said.
Police will also crack down on the trade of homemade bombs, as well as cut access to foreign sites carrying similar content in cooperation with the Korea Communications Standards Commission.
They also requested search engine operators to apply stricter regulations on searches for explosive-related keywords.
The suspect of the blast at the public transportation centers, who was caught Sunday, said he made the bombs with firecrackers, cans of butane gas, digital timers and batteries after finding the method through the Internet.
He said he sought to recover his stock options investment losses by causing panic selling and stock market crashes. The explosions were not powerful and left no casualties.
인터넷에 폭발물 제조법 올리면 처벌받는다
인터넷에 폭발물 실험 영상이나 제조법 등을 올리는 행위도 폭발물 사용 선동죄가 적용돼 엄중 처벌을 받는다.
경찰청 사이버테러대응센터는 전국 사이버수사대를 중심으로 사제 폭발물 유통 행위 단속을 강화하도록 지시하고 폭발물 제조법을 공유하는 카페를 운영하거나 관련 글을 올리는 행위에 대해서도 현행법을 적극적으로 적용하는 등 엄정히 대처한다는 방침을 세웠다고 17일 밝혔다.
형법상 폭발물 사용죄는 사형이나 무기, 7년 이상의 징역에, 폭발물 사용 예비ㆍ음모ㆍ선동죄는 2년 이상 징역에 처한다.
경찰 관계자는 "폭발물 제조 관련 게시물을 올리는 행위 역시 단속 대상이지만 제조물 매매 등 구체적인 행위 없이 단순 게시 행위 자체로만 처벌된 사례가 지금까지는 없었다"고 설명했다.
경찰은 이를 위해 사이버명예경찰 누리캅스와 협조해 모니터링을 강화하고 관련 외국 사이트도 방송통신심의위원회에 통보해 신속하게 차단할 계획이다.
또 포털사이트에 폭발물 관련 단어 검색을 제한하는 금칙어 설정 강화와 자체 모니터링, 신속한 차단 조치 등을 요청했다.
경찰은 최근 서울역과 강남고속버스터미널 사제폭탄 사건 피의자가 인터넷을 통해 폭발물 제조법을 배웠다는 사실이 전해지면서 국민의 불안감이 커지고 청소년 등 일부 누리꾼의 모방 범죄가 우려된다며 관련 글을 발견하면 사이버테러대응센터(www.netan.go.kr)로 신고해 달라고 당부했다. (연합)
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