Songpa-gu Holds Online Launch Ceremony for Internet Quarantine Volunteer Group

The Expanded Version of the 'Internet Bangyeokdan' Started in Songpa-gu...Launching Information Cleaning Activities to Create a Healthy Online Environment

Demonstration of Video Conferencing App and Presentation Materials

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Seongsu Park) will hold an online launch ceremony for the ‘Internet Quarantine Volunteer Group’ on the 9th, following the positive response to the nation’s first-ever ‘Internet Quarantine Team,’ which was established as a national model case.

The ‘Internet Quarantine Volunteer Group,’ recruited nationwide, will conduct 24-hour cyber quarantine activities to monitor and correct false information and fake news related to COVID-19.

The online launch ceremony will be held non-face-to-face via a remote video conferencing app (Smart Vision) set up in the mayor’s office, with about 100 volunteer applicants participating through the screen. The purpose of the project and the internet quarantine implementation strategy will be explained to the volunteers attending online.

Applications for internet quarantine volunteers were accepted from August 25 through the ‘Songpa-gu 1365 Volunteer Portal,’ and the first 100 applicants were recruited early.

As COVID-19 resurges recently, the disclosure of confirmed patients’ movement information by local governments has inevitably increased. However, unnecessary disclosure of movement paths, various false and fake information, and fake news have spread indiscriminately, causing secondary damage.

Songpa-gu has been operating the ‘Songpa-gu Internet Quarantine Team’ since May 21, the first in the nation, striving to protect the privacy of confirmed patients. However, due to the recent surge in confirmed cases and the proliferation of fake news, a more active response was necessary. Therefore, the scale and scope of activities have been expanded to the ‘Internet Quarantine Volunteer Group.’

Posts monitored and identified by the Internet Quarantine Volunteer Group will be fact-checked and requests for deletion will be made to the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Korea Communications Commission Fact-Check Center.

The district expects that internet quarantine based on residents’ voluntary participation will also help psychological quarantine to restore the diminished public sentiment.

Meanwhile, many students who have not had opportunities for volunteer activities due to the spread of COVID-19 can accumulate volunteer hours by voluntarily participating in internet quarantine.

Songpa-gu Mayor Seongsu Park stated, “When fake news spreads and personal information is abused, social trust declines,” adding, “We will do our best to establish the Internet Quarantine Volunteer Group as an alternative to solving social problems so that no citizens suffer damage from false information.”

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