The Danger of Homemade Guns Surfaces... Production Methods Exposed Online Without Protection

[Financial News] As a 60-year-old man killed his son with a 'homemade gun' in Songdo, Incheon, the danger of homemade guns is once again coming to the surface. Although it is easy to access homemade gun production methods through online platforms such as YouTube channels, there are practical limitations in regulating or controlling them, leaving them in a 'regulatory blind spot'. Experts emphasize that the public should not easily access information on homemade gun production.
On the 22nd, as a result of searching for homemade gun-related keywords on YouTube, our newspaper found many channels introducing homemade gun production methods using various parts. These channels showed the production process in detail from start to finish. Some even demonstrated the power by inserting beads into the homemade guns and firing them. Most of these channels are overseas accounts.
In Korea, the ownership and production of firearms are strictly prohibited by law. According to the Safety Management Act for Firearms, Swords, and Explosives (Firearms and Explosives Act), no one is allowed to possess firearms, swords, explosives, sprayers, electric shock devices, or crossbows without permission. Violating this can result in imprisonment for 3 to 15 years or a fine of 30 million to 100 million won.
However, so-called 'ghost guns' like homemade guns are realistically difficult to control. This is because if an individual purchases parts online and secretly manufactures them, it is difficult for the state to track and manage them. According to the National Police Agency, among the 281 illegal firearms collected during the concentrated crackdown on illegal weapons over the past five years, not a single one was a homemade gun.
Professor Oh Yoon-seong of the Department of Police Administration at Soonchunhyang University said, "In our country, firearm possession itself is illegal, but there is virtually no effective countermeasure for individuals who manufacture dangerous weapons like homemade guns and use them for crimes," adding, "Even if content showing the process of making homemade guns is uploaded on YouTube, if the channel is operated in a country where firearm possession is legal, it is in a regulatory blind spot."
The problem is that accidents caused by homemade guns continue to occur while regulation is difficult. In the past five years, there have been 1 case in 2021, 1 case in 2022, and 2 cases in 2023 of homemade gun accidents in Korea. Previously, in 2016, a civilian man indiscriminately fired a homemade gun near Opaesan Tunnel in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, resulting in the death of a responding police officer and injuries to two citizens. This is considered the worst homemade gun incident in Korea.
Experts point out that since it is easy to access information related to homemade guns online, there is a need to establish a content control system through domestic and international cooperation.
Professor Kwak Dae-kyung of the College of Police and Criminal Justice at Dongguk University said, "The biggest problem is that the public can easily access homemade gun production methods and other related information," adding, "If it is difficult to control YouTube content with domestic efforts alone, it is necessary to form a consultative body that can cooperate with overseas organizations or make it difficult for the public to access homemade gun manufacturing methods."
Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of the Department of Police Science at Konkuk University also emphasized, "It is necessary to block the posting of illegal weapon manufacturing content using the Information and Communications Network Act, and to take more active blocking measures against sites providing dangerous information such as firearm manufacturing."
Meanwhile, Jeong Il-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that he would propose a bill to amend the law to prevent similar firearm manufacturing crimes. Jeong explained that the regulations related to firearm manufacturing acts defined in the relevant law are ambiguous, and most of the people distributing firearm manufacturing methods and blueprints online are foreigners, making it difficult to enforce penalties effectively. welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yu-ha, Seo Ji-yoon reporters