Police Launch Investigation After Mocking Honam Flood Victims with 'Odengtang and Misutgaru' (Update)

Posts disparaging or mocking flood victims in the Honam region have been posted mainly on some online communities such as 'Ilgan Best,' prompting the police to launch an investigation. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] The police have launched an investigation into those who mocked victims of the flood damage in the Honam region by calling them "Odengtang" or comparing lost urns to "Misugaru."

The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 11th that it has begun an internal investigation into those who posted derogatory or mocking comments about the flood damage victims caused by heavy rain in Gwangju and Jeonnam.

Following the flood damage in Gwangju and Jeonnam caused by the heavy rain that continued from the 7th to the 8th, some internet communities such as "Ilgan Best" posted mocking comments targeting the flood victims and bereaved families in the Honam region.

Some netizens active in these communities compared the victims of the heavy rain in Damyang-gun, Jeonnam, to "Odengtang," and when urns were lost due to flooding in a columbarium in Gwangju, they referred to the bereaved families as "people lining up to eat Misugaru." One netizen even used the expression "Gwangju XXs who are punished even after death."

The police plan to verify the legality of such defamatory and mocking posts related to disaster victims.

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