One year since Korean National Police Agency launched secondary harm crimes unit
Police have arrested 112 people — three of whom were detained — on charges of insulting victims and bereaved families of social disasters, one year after forming a dedicated unit to pursue what authorities call "secondary harm."
The National Investigation Headquarters of the Korean National Police Agency said Monday that since establishing a unit dedicated to secondary harm against disaster victims last July, it had arrested 112 people, detained three and removed or blocked 6,091 online posts deemed to constitute secondary harm.
The headquarters also held meetings with bereaved families to hear about the harm they had suffered, as part of broader efforts to eradicate secondary harm.
In a survey the headquarters conducted to gauge how its secondary harm response had shaped public awareness, about half of respondents said they felt secondary harm had decreased as a result of police activity.
The survey drew 883 participants from June 24 to July 7. It found that 80 percent of respondents were aware of police efforts to combat secondary harm crimes, and 61 percent said those efforts had helped raise awareness that secondary harm constitutes a criminal offense.
Police said their analysis indicated that secondary harm was in fact declining online. An internal review of disaster-related comments on portals and other platforms over the year through June found that posts classified as secondary harm accounted for 19 percent of comments — down from 28 to 30 percent before the dedicated unit was launched.
"Secondary harm is a serious crime that inflicts further wounds on victims and their families," said Park Woo-hyeon, the agency's cyber investigation review officer. "Positive changes in the online environment and public awareness have been confirmed through a year of police response, and we will continue to do our utmost to build a society free from secondary harm crimes."
arin@heraldcorp.com
