▲ Some posts mocking independence activists
With Liberation Day about ten days away, it has been found that numerous posts mocking independence activists still persist on various social networking services such as TikTok.
During the March 1st Independence Movement Day earlier this year, videos created with artificial intelligence depicting Yu Gwan-sun as a "farting rocket" and Ahn Jung-geun as a "farting train" were uploaded to TikTok, sparking public outrage.
Professor Seo Kyoung-duk of Sungshin Women's University shared the results of a recent investigation across social media today (August 4), pointing out that "posts evaluating the appearances of independence activists, ranking their contributions, and comparing their favorite games and idols to independence activists have surfaced once again."
He analyzed, "Above all, it appears to be a strategy to boost their own accounts by exploiting famous independence activists such as Ahn Jung-geun, Yu Gwan-sun, and Kim Gu."
According to the legal community, practical punishment for such malicious content is difficult.
This is because under current law, the crime of defamation does not apply to the deceased, making criminal punishment impossible for simple disparagement or mockery alone.
Even when attempting to apply the law on defamation of the deceased, the requirements are strict—such as requiring the assertion of false facts—making it ineffective in sanctioning clever, sarcastic malicious content.
Professor Seo emphasized, "When malicious content is discovered, active reporting by netizens to block the exposure of such posts is the most important thing," adding, "Platforms must strengthen proactive monitoring to prevent such posts from being uploaded in the first place."
(Photo: Capture from Professor Seo Kyoung-duk's social media, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.