North Korean flag interrupts church YouTube livestream broadcast

Onnuri Church, one of South Korea’s largest Protestant megachurches, faced a livestream disruption during Tuesday’s dawn service when a North Korean flag appeared on screen for about 20 seconds. The church suspects external hacking and is investigating the incident.

According to church officials, the YouTube broadcast of a sermon by Pastor Park Jong-gil at Onnuri Church’s main campus in Seoul’s Yongsan District began at 5 a.m. About 20 minutes into the livestream, the screen abruptly displayed the North Korean flag along with what appeared to be an instrumental version of the country’s national anthem. The image stayed on screen for about 22 seconds before the broadcast returned to normal.

In a public notice issued shortly after the incident, the church said, “An unexpected video was aired during the YouTube livestream of the June 18 dawn service at the Seobinggo campus. We believe this was a hacking incident. An emergency investigation into the cause is currently underway, and we will respond accordingly once the situation is clarified.”

The version of the livestream currently posted on Onnuri Church’s website ends before the North Korean footage appears.

As part of its response, the church has reportedly changed the password to its YouTube administrator account and strengthened its two-step verification settings. It is also reviewing IP access logs from the streaming equipment used during the broadcast.

Church officials said the incident was unlikely to have been caused by a faulty video file or equipment malfunction. They believe the church’s network or YouTube account was compromised. “We cannot be certain of the cause until the investigation is complete, but at this point, we strongly suspect external hacking," a church official said.

The church said it will consider reaching out to law enforcement or YouTube headquarters if needed after the investigation is complete.


Chin-Ku Lee sys1201@donga.com