"Hate Against Wuhan Residents and Chinese as 'Pneumonia Germs' Spreads... Broadcasting Review Committee 'Monitoring'"

"Chinese People Should Be Cremated in Collective Camps" High-Level Hate Speech Spreads on SNS
Ambiguous Standards for Hate and Derogatory Expressions... Calls for Self-Regulation

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] As fear of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) spreads, hate and derogatory content targeting Chinese people and Wuhan residents is also increasing.

Videos labeled as 'Jjanggae (a derogatory term for Chinese) Legend' showing coughing Chinese people are being posted, along with highly inflammatory statements such as "Chinese people should be wiped out," "Let's massacre all Chinese diaspora who are coronavirus hosts," and "I hope a Chinese person sets fire to the Wuhan residents' shelter." There are many posts expressing extreme anti-China sentiments, including statements like "Chinese people should be eliminated with nuclear weapons" and "Chinese people should be collectively detained and cremated." Many responses show strong hatred, referring to China as a 'nation of nuisances.' Unverified videos about Chinese food culture are also spreading.

In this regard, a representative from the Korea Communications Standards Commission stated, "We are aware of the increasing amount of hate content related to 'Wuhan pneumonia,'" and added, "For content that causes serious confusion, we can conduct reviews and request corrections."

In fact, Article 8, Clause 3, Subparagraph 'b' of the Information and Communications Review Regulations allows for correction requests regarding content that "discriminates against or promotes prejudice based on gender, religion, disability, age, social status or origin, race, occupation, etc., without reasonable grounds."

However, compared to false and fabricated information (fake news) that causes actual social unrest, it is ambiguous to determine which hate and discriminatory content should be subject to correction requests, leading to the view that self-regulation should take precedence over regulation. Defining hate speech is difficult, and indiscriminate regulation of content reflecting public anxiety could be criticized as infringing on 'freedom of expression.'

A representative from the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Countermeasures against False and Fabricated Information said, "Clearly false misinformation and hate speech against specific individuals should be viewed separately, but hate is difficult to define by standards," adding, "First, selectively filtering hate information combined with fake news and allowing businesses to self-regulate would be the best approach."

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