Pastor in Songpa-gu investigated for calling May 18 uprising 'communist riot'

A pastor who claimed in a sermon that the May 18 Democratic Uprising was a riot carried out on orders from North Korea is under police investigation.

According to the Seoul Songpa Police Station, pastor A, who leads a church in Songpa-gu, was summoned for questioning Tuesday on charges of violating the Special Act on the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

A is accused of stating in a sermon posted to the church's YouTube channel on May 3 that "May 18 was not a democratic uprising but a communist riot carried out on orders from North Korea."

After the remarks became public, Pyeonghwa Namu Christian Restoration Center, a progressive Protestant organization, filed a complaint with police alleging that A had violated the May 18 Special Act.

Under the law, publicly spreading false information about the May 18 Democratic Uprising through internet broadcasts, social media or rallies can result in up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won ($32,800).

In a separate case, a man in his 20s was arrested after using an AI app to create a fake newspaper masthead about the May 18 Democratic Uprising, exploiting controversy over Starbucks Korea's "Tank Day" promotional event tied to May 18.

On Monday, the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's cybercrime investigation unit announced it had apprehended six people, including B, a man in his 20s identified as the original creator and distributor of a fake newspaper article image impersonating the Gwangju Ilbo and containing false claims about the May 18 Democratic Uprising. All six remain under investigation.

B combined the Gwangju Ilbo's masthead — the paper is a regional daily based in Gwangju — with a fabricated publication date of "May 20, 1980," and produced a fake article under the false headline: "May 18: Spies acting on North Korean orders seize arms depot, launch indiscriminate attack on martial law troops."

During police questioning, B reportedly said he had come to believe, through repeated viewing of YouTube content, that May 18 was the work of spies acting on North Korean orders, and that he created and distributed the fake newspaper article using an AI app because he wanted others to believe the same.

Police said they plan to apply a zero-tolerance policy to the spread of false information about May 18 through social media and other channels, pursuing investigations while simultaneously requesting the removal and blocking of such content.