Damages reduced from lower court ruling
A man in his 30s who posted bomb threat messages targeting five airports nationwide, triggering a massive police response, has been ordered to pay damages to the state — a ruling upheld on appeal.
According to legal sources Monday, Civil Division 5-2 of the Jeju District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Kyung-tae, ruled in the appellate case brought by the South Korean government against the man, identified only as A, that he must pay about 22.77 million won ($16,900) plus delay damages.
The lower court had ordered A to pay 29.28 million won. The appellate ruling reduced the damages from the original judgment.
A was indicted and detained on charges including violation of the Aviation Security Act after posting messages on online community boards between Aug. 6 and Aug. 7, 2023, threatening murder and bomb attacks at five airports — Jeju, Gimhae, Daegu, Incheon and Gimpo.
He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
A had a background in computer-related studies. He routed his posts through overseas IP addresses to evade police tracking and wiped both his computer and mobile phone after committing the offenses.
His posts prompted sweeping searches at all five airports, with armored vehicles deployed in the response.
The Ministry of Justice calculated its losses at 32.53 million won and filed a civil damages claim against A.
The appellate court said that "had it not been for the defendant's intentional illegal act, the unnecessary costs would not have occurred," adding that the expenses appeared to exceed the scope of costs normally incurred through general crime prevention and investigative activities.
The court also found a causal link between the costs incurred until A's arrest and the offenses, citing the danger posed by posts implying indiscriminate mass casualties and the nationwide fear and anxiety they caused.
However, the court noted that the damages figure included some general costs the state would have been obligated to incur in fulfilling its basic duty to protect the public. It also cited potential discrepancies between the calculated and actual fuel costs for vehicles, and set A's liability at 70 percent.
Government pursues civil liability for public intimidation offenses
Meanwhile, people in their 20s and 30s account for half of all suspects arrested on charges of public intimidation — including making false bomb threat reports — according to recently compiled data.
Data obtained last September by People Power Party lawmaker Song Seok-jun of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the Korean National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice showed that authorities arrested suspects in 49 of 72 public intimidation cases — involving 48 individuals — recorded in the four months from March 18 to July of last year, when the public intimidation law took effect.
Half of those arrested were in their 20s or 30s: 16 were in their 20s and eight were in their 30s, for a combined 24. Those in their 60s came next with eight, followed by those in their 50s with seven, those in their 40s with five, those aged 70 or older with three, and one teenager.
The most common motive was "dissatisfaction with society or a specific group," cited in 13 cases. That was followed by negligence in 10 cases, grievances against an involved party or a third party in four, no apparent reason in two, and mental illness and financial hardship in one case each.
The government has said public intimidation causes widespread anxiety, disrupts business for small merchants near incident scenes and wastes public resources — and is pursuing civil liability against suspects in addition to criminal charges.
yul@heraldcorp.com
