Police warn against copycat threats, fake news on stabbing of opposition leader

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, is transferred to a hospital in Seoul following an attack by a knife-wielding assailant during a visit to Busan, Tuesday. Yonhap

Police said they will respond sternly to anyone who posts threats to commit copycat crimes or spreads misinformation online following the recent knife attack against Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic People of Korea.

The National Office of Investigation at the National Police Agency said on Friday that it will cooperate with cyber investigative units across the country as well as with foreign investigative bodies to enhance the relevant crackdown.

The move came as a series of threats to commit copycat crimes against politicians including Han Dong-hoon, the new interim leader of the ruling People Power Party, have been posted online after Lee was stabbed in the neck by a 67-year-old man on Tuesday morning while touring the proposed site of a new airport on Busan’s Gadeok Island.

Police said online copycat crime threats targeting key politicians and other random people and misinformation have aggravated public anxiety and social confusion.

On the day of the attack against Lee, a death threat against Han was also uploaded. Police identified a man in his 40s as the writer and arrested him the following day on intimidation charges.

Police also warned against the spread of fake news.

The warning came as some online posts claimed that the attack against Lee was a self-fabricated scenario in his apparent bid to gain public attention and unify opposition voters ahead of the general elections slated for April. Some posts claimed, for example, that Lee was stabbed with a wooden chopstick.

"Posting threats to commit brutal crimes and spreading misinformation constitute serious crimes and threaten our community," said Woo Jong-soo, head of the National Office of Investigation. "We will take as strict measures as possible against these crimes to the fullest extent that the law allows."

The main opposition party, for its part, filed complaints with the Korea Communications Standards Commission, which regulates communications including television and internet, against six YouTube channels that the party believes spread misinformation about the attack against its chairman.

The party also decided to launch a task force, led by Jeon Hyun-heui, the former head of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, to deal with the incident's aftermath.

"The task force is aimed at calling for prompt investigations on the political terror against Lee and taking strong measures against blunt remarks and false information spread by cable channels and far-right YouTubers," the DPK spokesperson Kang Sun-woo said.