The South Korean parliament on Thursday passed a law revision that would allow criminal punishment for those issuing threats of murder or violence against the general public.
The revision of the Criminal Act introduces a clause stipulating the "public intimidation law," defined as "an act of announcing indiscriminate acts of crime against unspecified people." Those found guilty can face up to five years in prison or a 20 million won ($13,700) fine, and repeat offenders will receive up to seven years and six months in prison or a 30 million won fine.
There have been several recent cases of online posts threatening violence or even murder. Last year, a user in an anonymous online community posted that he would stab 30 people to death at Yatap Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on Sept. 23.
The suspect, who turned out to be a man in his 20s, was caught nearly two months later by police and said it was an empty threat to promote his website. Nearly 200 police officers and Seongnam city government officials were dispatched to the station on the supposed day of the attack.
Many such threats are charged with intimidation, punishable by up to three years in prison or 5 million won fine.
A person found to have actually prepared for the threatened crime can be charged with conspiracy of murder or violence — such as the 2023 case of a man who bought a knife after posting online that he planned to kill 20 women at Sillim Station in Seoul.
However, it is nearly impossible to charge those who claim to have issued threats without any intent of carrying them out, and who did not prepare for the crimes in any way.
In October, a Daejeon court cleared a 36-year-old man of all charges, after he was indicted for posting a murder threat against "lawmakers and well-off people in Seoul."
The new clause to punish public threats will now be sent to the government, where it will be presented in a Cabinet meeting and promulgated to the general public. The law revision will be made effective immediately after the promulgation.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
