Gwangju Police Send Ilbe Members and Others Who Distort '5·18' to Prosecution

First Person Punished After Enforcement of the 5·18 Distortion Punishment Act

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Members of the Ilgan Best Storage (Ilbe) website, accused of spreading false information about the May 18 Democratic Uprising, have been referred to the prosecution.

This is the first case referral since the related penalty law came into effect on January 5, 351 days ago.

The Gwangju Police Agency Cyber Crime Investigation Unit is investigating about 10 individuals, including Ilbe members and YouTubers, on charges of violating the Special Act on the May 18 Democratic Uprising, and announced on the 22nd that some of them have been sent to the prosecution.

They are accused of spreading false information by labeling the May 18 event as a rebellion or riot on community sites or mentioning the "North Korean military intervention theory."

Under current law, spreading false information about May 18 is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won.

The police received an investigation request from Gwangju City regarding problematic internet posts and YouTube videos, and judged that about 10 authors were guilty.

Gwangju City and May 18 organizations are continuously collecting cases of distortion and spreading false information, and are reportedly planning to file additional complaints if they consider them illegal.

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