"I’ll Blow Up Andong Station"… Teen Receives Suspended Sentence for Terror Threat During 10-Year Reunion Promise

A Dampener on the “10-Year Dream Reunion” at KBS Documentary Three Days
Suspended Sentence in Consideration of First Offense and Minor Status
Also Accused of Transferring Only 10 Won After Using Massage Parlor

A teenage male who posted a false message claiming to have installed an explosive device at the old Andong Station Square in North Gyeongsang Province — the promised reunion spot from 10 years ago featured on the KBS program “Documentary Three Days” — has been given a suspended prison sentence for causing police resources to be wasted.

Police officers searching the scene after receiving a bomb installation report. Screenshot from the KBS Documentary 3 Days special edition 'About Time' on YouTube

According to Yonhap News on August 19, the Seoul Northern District Court’s Criminal Division 8 Single Judge (Judge Kim Chunsoo) on August 12 sentenced 19-year-old Yang to six months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of public intimidation and obstruction of official duties by deception. In addition, the court ordered that Yang be placed under probation.

“Documentary Three Days,” which aired for a total of 15 years starting in 2007, is a program that gathers stories of ordinary citizens meeting over 72 hours in a particular space. The program’s cancellation was decided in 2022.

In particular, the 2015 episode, “72 Hours of Tomorrow’s Train Journey,” featured a scene in which cinematographer Lee Ji-won made an impromptu promise with two university students (Mr. Kim and Mr. An) he met at Andong Station in North Gyeongsang Province. That moment continued to attract attention online.

On the promised date — August 15 last year — Andong Station was packed with crowds of citizens gathered to witness the reunion after 10 years. The incident took place while the KBS Documentary channel was livestreaming on YouTube. Yang, viewing the stream from his home in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, wrote a false message in the live chat saying, “I’m there. I’ve installed a bomb,” in response to the question, “Will we be able to meet again at Andong Station?”

A viewer who saw this reported to the police, saying, “A bomb has been installed at Andong Station.” In response to the report, the Andong Police Station in North Gyeongsang Province urgently dispatched around 50 officers, explosive detection dogs, and special equipment to the scene. They took control of and searched the station, nearby shops, and the bus terminal area for over three hours. Although no explosives were found, the evacuation alert put the onsite filming at risk of being canceled.

Nevertheless, the meeting between the original promise participants — cinematographer Lee and Mr. Kim — was dramatically realized. Mr. Kim reportedly declined to appear on camera, so the broadcast showed a drawing based on a photo of the two instead, and their exchanged messages were also aired. The actual reunion scene was not shown on the program.

Judge Kim stated, “A large number of people gathered at Andong Station experienced inconvenience, and significant police resources were wasted.” He also pointed out that the filming for the KBS Documentary channel was hampered as a result. However, the judge explained the sentencing, noting, “The defendant admitted his wrongdoing and is reflecting, this is his first offense and he has no prior criminal record, and he was a minor at the time of the offense.”

Meanwhile, Yang was also tried on additional charges for deceiving a massage parlor operator in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, by setting the sender’s name as “100,000 won” but transferring only 10 won after using the shop’s services.

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