Fake News Claiming May 18 Was a 'Spy Operation' Spread Online... Woman in Her 50s Arrested

Gwangju Cyber Crime Investigation Unit Makes Arrest

An internet user who spread fake news by fabricating the May 18 Democratization Movement as an “act of espionage” through a synthesized article imitating a newspaper report has been apprehended by the police.

Fake newspaper articles circulated online. Yonhap News Agency

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 24th that it has booked a woman in her 50s, identified as Ms. A, on charges of violating the Special Act on the May 18 Democratization Movement, defamation, and obstruction of business.

Ms. A is accused of disseminating a post distorting the May 18 Democratization Movement in the format of an article from Gwangju Ilbo, a daily newspaper in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, through her social networking service (SNS) account in the early morning hours of the 21st. The post was a cleverly fabricated article, posing as if it had been published on May 20, 1980, by Gwangju Ilbo, and included the false claim that the May 18 Democratization Movement was orchestrated by North Korean spies.

In June 2022, the police flag at the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, fluttered in the wind. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The police plan to conduct a focused investigation into whether there were any accomplices or instigators, including through analysis of confiscated materials. A police official stated, "We will respond strictly to malicious and organized dissemination of false information that causes social disorder, as well as acts that insult victims of state violence."

Meanwhile, on the same day, the police launched an internal investigation into 37 SNS accounts suspected of spreading false information regarding the May 18 Democratization Movement. The National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency stated, "Since May 22, we have requested the deletion or blocking of 240 problematic posts," adding, "In particular, the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency today apprehended and is currently investigating a suspect who distributed fabricated posts in the form of newspaper articles using artificial intelligence (AI)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.