YouTuber Pretending to Be a COVID-19 Patient, Arrest Warrant Denied

Court "Charges Recognized, Evidence Secured" Explains Dismissal Reasons
Police "Strict Measures Will Be Taken Against Antisocial and False Information Related to Novel Coronavirus"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Yoseop] Recently, a detention warrant for a 20-year-old YouTuber A, who pretended to be a patient infected with the novel coronavirus (Wuhan pneumonia) on the Busan subway and uploaded a video of it, was dismissed.

Park Jin-woong, chief judge of the Western Branch of Busan District Court, dismissed the detention warrant after conducting a pre-arrest interrogation (warrant substantive examination) on the 23-year-old A, who was charged with obstruction of business and other offenses, on the 11th.

Chief Judge Park stated the reason for dismissal, saying, "The suspect has a fixed occupation and residence, admits to the charges, and the video from the time of the crime has been secured, so the possibility of evidence tampering is low. At this stage, it is difficult to recognize the necessity or appropriateness of detention."

Although the detention warrant was dismissed, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency plans to strictly take measures against antisocial behavior, acts that increase public anxiety, and the spread of false information including fake news related to the novel coronavirus in the future, using this case as an opportunity.

A not only pretended to be a novel coronavirus patient on the subway but also uploaded videos to YouTube shouting in the middle of a busy downtown area, which drew criticism from netizens. When the police investigation began, A voluntarily appeared and reportedly stated that the videos were filmed and uploaded to become famous on YouTube.

On the 8th, the day the police applied for a detention warrant, A uploaded a video mocking the police on his account. He ridiculed those who criticized him and satirized the police who applied for the detention warrant by calling them "Gyeonchal" (a derogatory term for police).

However, it was reported that A showed remorse in court that day by saying, "I will never create and upload such content again."

A was caught by the police on the afternoon of the 30th of last month around 4:30 PM for pretending to be a novel coronavirus patient by suddenly coughing on a train of Busan Metro Line 3 and shouting, "I came from Wuhan. It’s pneumonia. Everyone stay away from me," and filming it to upload on his personal YouTube channel.

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