Information on 'New Coronavirus Confirmed Cases' Circulating on the Internet Proven to Be False Information

An ambulance is leaving Seoul Gimpo Airport on the morning of the 31st, when Korean residents arrived from Wuhan, China, which was locked down as the origin of the novel coronavirus infection. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] A document containing information about confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) circulated on an internet community has been proven to be fake. The relevant local governments plan to request an investigation by the police.

On the afternoon of the 31st, a photo of a document titled "Report of Confirmed Cases of Novel Coronavirus in the Jurisdiction" was posted on an internet community. Under the section "Confirmed Cases Details," the names of three individuals are written with the middle character of their three-character names omitted, showing only the first and last characters, along with detailed information about their residence, occupation, age, and movement routes. Several other documents with similar formats but different content regarding confirmed cases have also been circulated.

However, all these documents have been confirmed as false information not created by any public institution. The basic local governments responsible for the addresses listed in the documents stated that they did not prepare such documents. The higher-level metropolitan governments also explained that they never created these documents and that all the content is groundless.

The circulated documents claim to have been prepared by the "Health Management Division." However, neither the Ministry of Health and Welfare nor the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has such a division. Although the health centers of the mentioned local governments have a "Health Promotion Division," official public institution reports clearly specify the division name, and the Health Promotion Division does not handle infectious disease tasks.

It has been pointed out that the indiscriminate spread of false information with unclear sources only increases public anxiety and confusion. A representative of the relevant metropolitan government stated, "We will take strong measures such as requesting police investigations to prevent the recurrence of fake news." The police have also decided to start an internal investigation.

Meanwhile, the police have established a "Cyber Countermeasures Situation Room" and are taking strict action against fake news causing public confusion. A police agency official said, "The production and distribution of false and manipulated information online cause public anxiety and social disorder, so we plan to continuously monitor and strictly respond to illegal activities," adding, "We hope the public will actively report any false and manipulated information to the police and related agencies."

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