PM says fake news are main culprit that disturbs democracy

With respect to fake news, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said on Tuesday, “It is the public enemy of the society under the name of the freedom of expression‎ that inflicts social distrust and chaos, destroying the community and disturbing democracy.”

“There is absurd fake news not only on national security including the inter-Korean relationship but also on the chief of state,” added Lee while presiding over a Cabinet meeting held at the Seoul Government Complex. “The government and the private sector have made efforts to tackle fake news, but it was not enough and the situation became even worse. We cannot overlook this anymore.”

The prime minister ordered relevant agencies including the Science Technology Information Communications Division under the Korea Communications Commission to stringently punish producers as well as distributors of fake news, to have each government agency to request investigation immediately upon identifying fake news, while establishing countermeasures by the prosecution and the police force in relation to fake news.

When visiting the residence of former Vietnamese president in Ho Chi Minh on Wednesday, the prime minister wrote, “I feel small and ashamed in front of the president’s life.” Afterwards, when this message roamed around the Internet as paying a tribute to North Korea, Lee exceptionally warned to “halt such dirty behavior.”

"Prime Minister Lee has emphasized to come up with measures to tackle fake news at various meetings after gaining access to a fake news that a person committed suicide due to minimum wage in Daejeon," said a high ranking official from the Prime Minister’s office. "He decided that fake news is a problem cannot be left untouched after going through the Vietnam incident.”


Keun-Hyung Yoo noel@donga.com