YouTuber who claimed 'mutilated bodies are being found in Korea' summoned by police for questioning

A YouTuber accused of spreading false information — claiming “a large number of mutilated bodies are being found in Korea” — on an online Japanese community was summoned for questioning by the police on Friday.

YouTuber Daebojjang, who has more than 960,000 subscribers and is active in Japan, is seen during a live broadcast. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A YouTuber accused of spreading false information — claiming “a large number of mutilated bodies are being found in Korea” — on an online Japanese community was summoned for questioning by the police on Friday.

The cyber investigation unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency summoned the man, surnamed Cho, as a suspect under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, according to police on Monday.

Cho is also known as “Daebojjang,” a YouTuber with 960,000 subscribers. He mainly operates in Japan.

Last month, he uploaded a video titled “[Instances of] murders and organ trafficking by Chinese criminals entering Korea without visas are increasing” (translated), in which he claimed, “Thirty-seven corpses with only their lower halves have been found in Korea. There are [...] 150 ongoing investigations.”

During questioning, Cho reportedly denied the allegations that he was spreading false information, telling police, “I thought [the number of] Chinese crimes was actually increasing and putting others in danger, so I posted the video to raise awareness.”

Police are continuing their investigation, citing that Cho’s claims are spreading misinformation, inciting public anxiety and damaging Korea's image.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY SHIN HYE-YEON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]