"Spreaders of Fake News on 'Multiple Lower Body Corpses Found' Referred to Prosecution"
by Jang Heejun
Published 05 Mar.2026 13:05(KST)
Updated 05 Mar.2026 13:07(KST)
Operator of "Daebojjang" YouTube Channel Spread False Information
Fake Statement About Overseas Stock Tax Issued by Impersonating President Lee
Seoul Police Refer Both to Prosecution on Charges Including Telecommunications Act Violation
A YouTuber who spread false information claiming that "multiple lower-body-only corpses have been discovered," along with a man in his 30s who impersonated President Lee Jaemyung to fabricate a fake public statement about raising the capital gains tax rate on overseas stock transfers, have been referred to the prosecution.
The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on March 5 that they have forwarded YouTuber Cho, a man in his 30s, and another man in his 30s, referred to as Mr. A, to the prosecution without detention on charges including violation of the Framework Act on Telecommunications.
Cho, who operates the YouTube channel "Daebo Jjang" with 960,000 subscribers, is accused of posting a video in October last year containing false claims such as "There have been 37 cases of lower-body-only corpses found in Korea, and with 150 undisclosed investigations, the total is 187 cases," and "The number of missing persons in Korea has reached 80,000." The police have applied for pre-indictment confiscation of the criminal proceeds earned by Cho from the video, totaling 2,421 US dollars (about 3.5 million won).
Mr. A is accused of posting fabricated content on X (formerly Twitter) under President Lee Jaemyung's name on three occasions last November, such as "The capital gains tax rate on overseas stock transfers will be raised from 22% to 40%," "An annual 1% overseas stock holding tax will be introduced," and "These measures will take effect on January 1, 2026." When police launched a preliminary investigation after the fake public statement caused controversy, Mr. A turned himself in last December.
A police official stated, "While we will guarantee freedom of expression to the fullest extent, we will take firm action against criminal acts related to malicious or clearly false and fabricated information."
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