Man arrested for spreading false claim that election officials fled in police uniforms

A man in his 40s has been arrested for spreading false information claiming that election commission officials disguised themselves in police uniforms to slip away from a protest in Jamsil, Seoul — a claim linked to the ballot shortage controversy that erupted during the June 3 local elections.

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday it had booked the man, identified only as A, a resident of South Gyeongsang Province, on charges of violating the Framework Act on Telecommunications. He was not detained.

A is accused of posting videos twice — on June 14 and June 19 — to his YouTube channel showing a standoff between police and protesters outside the Olympic Park handball arena in Songpa-gu, which had served as a vote-counting center. He added subtitles claiming that election commission officials had been "caught trying to sneak out in police uniforms," police said.

The protests were triggered by a ballot shortage in Songpa-gu earlier this month, drawing about 40,000 people to the counting center amid anger that "the right to vote — a fundamental civil right — had been violated." Election commission staff had briefly been trapped inside the venue before managing to leave. A is believed to have used that incident as a basis and attached false claims to footage of the protest scene.

The two videos spread across online communities, accumulating a combined 2.27 million views and 7,600 comments. A police investigation determined, however, that the individuals in police uniforms shown in the videos were actual officers — not election commission employees. After the investigation began, A voluntarily deleted both videos.

A told investigators that he "posted the videos knowing the content was false, with the aim of getting high view counts and earning revenue," and said he "deeply regrets" his actions.

"We regard the deliberate spread of malicious false information that exploits a situation of national confusion — one involving an infringement of citizens' right to vote — as a serious crime, and we will investigate it strictly," a police official said.