Seongnam City Holds Responsible Until the End for Fake News on Novel Coronavirus

Seongnam City Hall

[Asia Economy (Seongnam) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province has decided to take strong measures, including operating a dedicated task force (TF), to respond to fake news such as the spread of false information related to the novel coronavirus infection.

On the 3rd, at the Seongnam City Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting, Mayor Eun Soo-mi instructed, "Please focus all capabilities and administrative power to actively respond to acts that cause citizens' anxiety with distorted information during this national crisis."

Although no confirmed cases have occurred in Seongnam so far, on the 31st of last month, a document claiming that a confirmed case had occurred in Bundang-gu circulated through some internet cafes and communities.

In response, the Seongnam City Fake News TF confirmed with the public health center and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency that the document was fake news, posted response materials on the city’s homepage and SNS, and requested corrections from the media outlets that posted it, quickly resolving the controversy through prompt action.

An official from the city stated, "Official information about this infectious disease is being disclosed through the city’s homepage," adding, "We will continuously monitor the media and SNS to prevent the spread of fake news in advance, and will strongly respond by requesting investigations for obstruction of business and defamation against malicious distributors."

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