While an elementary school teacher in Daejeon died after suffering from malicious complaints, a social media account appeared revealing the identity of the parents who had been accused of filing complaints for years. This account is attracting so much attention that it has over 7,000 followers just one day after it was created. Regarding this, some are concerned that unconfirmed information could cause innocent harm.
Previously, on the 10th, an account was created on Instagram to reveal the identities of parents who were identified as the perpetrators of the Daejeon teacher death incident. The account operator released the name, phone number, place of business, and family photos of the parents of the alleged perpetrator along with the introductory message, ‘We are revealing the faces of the murderer and his children who caused a female teacher of 24 years to commit suicide, as well as the in-laws’ cousins.’ In addition, many posts were posted criticizing the malicious combination of photos related to parents.
The account administrator said, “Some may say they are crossing the line, but because of them, the husband lost his beloved wife,” and “The mother lost her daughter, the two children lost their mother, and a family was devastated.” At the same time, he gave justification by saying, “I want to make them aware of their mistakes by using the method of ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,’” and “I want to eradicate the fundamental cause of this incident that caused social resentment.”
In response to a netizen’s point that posts containing personal information could be problematic, this operator said, “If you want to (report) it, do it. He also claimed토토사이트, “I am a 10-year-old boy.”
The account posted about 40 posts in one day, and the number of followers exceeded 7,800. The existing account was closed around 11 am on the 11th, but another account named ‘Season 2’ was created and related posts are being posted.
However, private sanctions such as disclosure of personal information have the side effect of stigmatizing innocent citizens socially. In fact, there was a case where unconfirmed information was shared online, causing secondary damage when a teacher at Seoi Elementary School in Seoul died last July. At that time, ‘A congressman’s granddaughter is attending Seoi Elementary School. Articles to the effect that the school and police are trying to cover up the incident due to external pressure spread, and People Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho was mentioned as a person linked to the deceased’s extreme choice. However, it turned out that this rumor was not true as Representative Han Ki-ho had no grandchildren attending the school.
Seol Dong-hoon, a professor of sociology at Chonbuk National University, told Chosun.com, “It can be frustrating that the suspect who led the teachers to their deaths has not been revealed. Although the intention to implement justice is good, private sanctions are a violation of positive law and can cause harm to innocent people.” . He continued, “If the account owner has any information related to the incident, it would be a good idea to report it to the investigative agency or the media and undergo a strict fact check.”
Meanwhile, if the personal information of the offender is disclosed in the private sector, the person may be punished for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (Information and Communications Network Act). According to Article 70, Paragraph 1 of the Information and Communications Network Act, a person who defames another person by publicly revealing facts through an information and communications network for the purpose of defaming that person shall be punished by imprisonment for up to 3 years or by a fine of up to 30 million won. If the disclosed information is false, you may be imprisoned for up to 7 years, suspended for up to 10 years, or fined up to 50 million won.