National Office of Investigation Confirms Mockery of Sewol Ferry Victim... Strict Response to Secondary Victimization

After a survivor of the Sewol ferry disaster recently passed away, a series of online posts insulting and mocking the deceased and their bereaved family have appeared. In response, the police have announced a strict stance against secondary victimization.

The National Office of Investigation at the National Police Agency stated on the 24th that mocking, demeaning, and malicious comments targeting the deceased and their family have been identified on certain online communities and social networking services (SNS). The agency emphasized that such actions constitute a serious form of secondary victimization, as they inflict psychological pain on the disaster victims and their families.

On April 11, five days before the 12th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, mourners are paying their respects at the citizen memorial altar set up at the 5.18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu, Gwangju. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Previously, on the 19th, it was reported that Mr. A, a survivor of the Sewol ferry disaster, had passed away.

The bereaved family laid the deceased to rest at Ansan Sky Park, where students from Danwon High School are also interred.

Depending on the content of the posts, secondary victimization of disaster victims may constitute violations of laws such as insult or defamation. The Secondary Victimization Crime Investigation Division of the National Office of Investigation announced that it will strengthen monitoring of related posts, and for content deemed unlawful, it will request deletion or blocking and take legal action accordingly.

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