"Looking for Cast Members" Female College Student Pretending to Be a PD Faces Indiscriminate Meeting Requests... Concerns Over Sexual Crimes

A joint countermeasure committee of university students victimized by impersonation of broadcast station PDs posted on an online university community on the 2nd, seeking reports from students who suffered from impersonation by terrestrial broadcast PDs./Photo by Online Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] A so-called "Beware of Men Impersonating Broadcast PDs" alert has been issued on university campuses. According to university student communities, this man claims to be a PD and meets female college students, raising concerns about potential sexual crimes. Students have publicized this fact and taken direct action.

On the 2nd, a post titled "Collecting Cases of Broadcast PD Impersonation Victims" was uploaded on the Yonsei University page of the university online community "Everytime".

The Joint Countermeasure Committee of University Students Victimized by Broadcast PD Impersonation (Countermeasure Committee) stated, "There is a 'impersonation scam method' where someone impersonates a broadcast PD to harm university students," adding, "We expect there are more victim cases and plan to collect these facts to submit to the police."

The committee added, "While we hope to catch the culprit, the primary goal is to inform many university students aspiring to work in broadcasting to prevent further victims. We ask for many reports from victims."

According to the committee, Mr. A, estimated to be in his 40s, approached students hoping to enter the broadcasting field, claiming that six female college students were needed for a COVID-19 public service advertisement shoot, and requested meetings.

Based on the students' victim reports, Mr. A's actions began in December last year. He contacted students majoring in media-related fields at Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University, Hanyang University, Sogang University, and Sungshin Women's University, with at least 10 victims identified.

Mr. A contacted students either by calling student council members' phone numbers publicly available online or by using public phones to impersonate calls from the school administration office, directly reaching out to students. During this process, another man who introduced himself as an assistant director mediated communication between Mr. A and the students.

Some students met Mr. A at cafes and discussed matters related to broadcast appearances. It is reported that Mr. A only talked about broadcasting-related topics without making other demands or contacts during these meetings.

Mr. A's activities were uncovered as students shared their experiences by chance. Suspicious of receiving similar contacts, students directly inquired with the PD Mr. A impersonated and the administration office, discovering all were false.

The committee stated it will inform students of these victimization facts to prevent further victims and review future response measures.

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