"YouTuber in His 40s Arrested for Spreading False Claim: 'Election Commission Staff Tried to Leave in Police Uniforms'"

Videos Containing False Information Spread Online

Admits Crime Was "For Profit"

A YouTuber who spread false information online related to the ballot counting station protest at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, has been apprehended by the police.

A YouTuber in their 40s is accused of spreading false information online related to the vote-counting site protest at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

According to Yonhap News Agency on June 26, the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it had booked a YouTube channel operator, identified as Mr. A, who is in his 40s, without physical detention on charges of violating the Telecommunications Act.

Mr. A is accused of distributing two videos via his YouTube channel in the middle of this month, claiming falsely that "police officers dressed members of the National Election Commission staff, who were trapped at the Jamsil ballot counting station, in police uniforms and tried to escort them outside, but were caught by protesters."

According to the police investigation, Mr. A's false claims spread rapidly online. The videos posted by Mr. A on YouTube reached a total of 2.27 million views, and each video attracted up to 7,600 comments.

However, it was revealed that the National Election Commission staff members identified by Mr. A were in fact active-duty police officers.

The police discovered these illegal activities during online monitoring, initiated an investigation, and recently apprehended Mr. A, who resides in Gyeongnam Province.

During police questioning, Mr. A admitted to the crime, stating, "I posted the videos despite knowing they were false, in order to increase revenue from views."

Meanwhile, the protest blocking the ballot counting station, which was sparked by the shortage of ballot papers in the June 3 local elections, has continued for 22 consecutive days. The demonstration, led mainly by people in their 20s and 30s, demands a re-election and reforms to the National Election Commission.

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