"37 Severed Lower Bodies Found in Korea": Outrage as Korean YouTuber Profits from Anti-Korean Fake News

A Korean YouTuber operating in Japan has sparked controversy by spreading fake news claiming that 'mutilated bodies are being discovered one after another in the Republic of Korea (ROK), making it dangerous.'
According to industry sources on the 5th, Debo, a YouTuber with 950,000 subscribers, is Korean but is active in Japan.
On the 22nd, Debo posted a video titled, 'Recently, crimes and organ trafficking by Chinese criminals entering Korea without visas have become dangerous.'
In the video, he claimed, 'There have been 37 cases of bodies found in the ROK with only the lower half remaining,' and 'There are 150 cases currently under confidential investigation.' His only evidence was a single comment from an anonymous netizen claiming to be a 'prosecutor.'
His claims are false. Last month, a body with only the lower half remaining was found in North Chungcheong Province, but the upper half was soon discovered as well. The figure of '37 cases' is entirely fabricated.
He also asserted that with Chinese tourists entering the ROK visa-free, public safety has collapsed and the number of missing persons has reached 80,000.
However, the figure of '80,000' appears to be a distortion of the 71,854 missing persons reports tallied last year by the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA). Of these, 71,703 cases were already resolved, meaning the actual number of unresolved cases is extremely small. This year, the trend is similar: by August, there were 47,283 adult missing persons reports, but 99% (47,163) had been resolved.
The situation is similar in Japan. According to statistics from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, 80,000 to 90,000 missing persons reports are filed annually, but these figures simply represent the number of reports.
Japanese netizens who watched the video responded with comments such as, 'I wanted to travel to Korea, but now I'm scared to go,' 'Even Koreans are being cautious and never go out alone,' 'Why isn't this being reported in Japan? It's terrifying,' and 'Korea is already finished. It's truly sad.'
Some have criticized this as 'anti-Korean profiteering,' accusing Debo of increasing subscribers and views by denigrating the ROK. In fact, videos on Debo's channel with sensational titles like 'Korea Emergency Situation' receive far more views than other content.
The problem is that such content fuels exaggerated fears about the ROK and spreads anti-Korean sentiment.
These reckless fake news videos may constitute defamation (spreading false information) under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (ICNA). If there is intent to damage the ROK’s social image and claims such as '37 severed lower bodies' or '80,000 missing persons' are proven to be false, legal punishment is possible.
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter