Kim Yu Na’s abortion? Ko Woo Rim’s affair? The spread of fake news is getting much more severe
Even Kim Yu Na and Ko Woo Rim have also become victims of fake news.
Shocking information, such as “Kim Yu Na gave up her pregnancy due to Ko Woo Rim’s affair”, “Seo Jung Hee passed away after battling breast cancer”, “Ex-husband donated bone marrow to Hye Eun”, etc., are spreading online but they are all fake. Such unconfirmed rumors spread through Youtube and many people do believe in them. However, what’s frustrating is that there is no way to deal with fake news under the current law.
A Youtube channel with more than 8,000 subscribers recently claimed that Kim Yu Na and Ko Woo Rim would divorce. According to this Youtuber, Ko Woo Rim secretly brought a woman to their house to drink wine when Kim Yu Na was on a business trip abroad, and that woman was even caught wearing expensive dresses in Kim Yu Na’s closet. A day after, this Youtube channel released another video with the provocative title “Kim Yu Na gives up on her pregnancy, Ko Woo Rim’s affair”. They claimed that Kim Yu Na, who is in her second week of pregnancy, held an emergency press conference to announce that she would divorce Ko Woo Rim and abort the child because of his affair.
However, all of that information is fake news. In the video, it said, “Kim Yu Na and Ko Woo Rim became husband and wife earlier this year”, but the couple actually got married in October last year. Netizens also quickly found out that other information, such as “Kim Yu Na and Ko Woo Rim’s divorce”, “Ko Woo Rim secretly brought a woman to their house when Kim Yu Na was away”, “Kim Yu Na announced that she would not give birth to her child because of Ko Woo Rim’s affair”, etc., are fake and cannot be found on any portal sites. In particular, Kim Yu Na did not hold any press conferences.
Despite that, the person who spread false rumors had already achieved their intention of gaining views. The videos that made up all kinds of absurd stories using provocative words and content earned more than 10,000 views within 24 hours after they were uploaded. In addition, that Youtuber crossed the line and harmed even more people as they kept on producing unconfirmed information, such as Ki Sung Yong and Han Hye Jin’s divorce, Baek Jong Won’s affair, NewJeans’s Grammy broadcasting accident, etc. Noticing that the comment function has been restricted, netizens assume that this person intentionally spread fake news to attract views and make profits.
Under the current law, a fake news video is considered a one-person broadcast, not a media report, so no punishment can be carried out. Cybercrime expert Jung Taek Jin explained, “Considering this an individual action, the person who spread fake news can be punished for cyber defamation”. Cultural critic Kim Heon Sik emphasized, “The issue has become so serious as unconfirmed rumors and fake news are spreading more rapidly. This action should be recognized as a crime.”
Source: daum
