Police detain teenager for bomb threats against KT, train stations and broadcasters

Police have detained a teenager accused of posting multiple hoax bomb threats on anonymous online message boards, targeting major transport hubs, telecom facilities and broadcasters and prompting repeated emergency responses across the country.

The KT logo is seen at KT's building in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 13. [NEWS1]

Police have detained a teenager accused of posting multiple hoax bomb threats on anonymous online message boards, targeting major transport hubs, telecom facilities and broadcasters and prompting repeated emergency responses across the country.

The suspect in one case demanded 10 billion won ($6.8 million) and threatened to detonate a bomb and stab people, authorities said Wednesday.

Police said the case reflects a broader spread of criminal harassment incidents, particularly among teenagers using online messaging platforms.

The teenager posted a series of threats between Jan. 5 and Sunday against six sites — including KT’s Bundang office, Gangnam Station in southern Seoul, Busan Station, Cheonan-Asan Station and broadcasters SBS and MBC in western Seoul — according to the Gyeonggi Bundang Police Precinct.

The suspect allegedly posted his first message on Jan. 5 on a KT mobile phone consultation board, claiming a bomb had been placed at the telecom company’s Bundang office and would be detonated at 9 p.m. unless he was paid 10 billion won. He also threatened to carry out a stabbing attack. The post listed the author's surname as “Kim” and included a Toss Bank account number under that name.

Police initially treated the threat as part of a broader wave of bomb threats targeting major companies nationwide and limited their response to safety measures at the site before closing the case. But similar threats later appeared targeting Gangnam Station on Friday, Busan Station on Saturday and Cheonan-Asan Station as well as SBS and MBC on Sunday.

The incidents are referred to as “swatting,” a crime in which false reports are used to deliberately trigger emergency responses. In some of the posts, the suspect cited implausible motives, including “I took the KTX and the attendant didn’t give me water” and “I will detonate a bomb unless you apologize for biased broadcasts.”

The Bundang Police Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, is pictured in this undated photo. [GYEONGGI NAMBU POLICE AGENCY]

Although police initially saw no clear links between the cases, they confirmed after the suspect’s arrest that all of the threats were made by the same person.

Investigators said the suspect used a virtual private network to route his connections through overseas IP addresses and posted the messages on fire service reporting boards and anonymous bulletin boards operated by broadcasters.

Police said the suspect deliberately selected websites that allowed posts without identity verification to avoid leaving digital traces. The KT consultation board and broadcaster message boards he used all lacked authentication requirements.

Investigators said the suspect carried out the threats after a dispute with a user — allegedly surnamed Kim — he met on the messaging platform Discord, and used that person’s name in the posts to cause trouble. Police said swatting incidents have recently spread among teenagers on Discord.

During questioning, the suspect told police he committed the acts to raise money for travel expenses. He claimed he agreed to receive 50,000 won from one Discord user and paid 25,000 won to another person to instigate the threat against KT’s Bundang office.

“Only one of the cases appears to have involved an attempt to obtain money, so the credibility of the suspect’s statement requires further investigation,” a police official said. “Given the widespread planning of swatting crimes through Discord, authorities plan to thoroughly investigate related offenses.”

The suspect has been arrested on charges of public intimidation. He also admitted to five additional hoax bomb threats targeting Lotte World, Dongdaegu Station, Suwon Station, Unjeong Central Station and a middle school, police said. Authorities plan to seek a formal arrest warrant after reviewing the additional allegations.

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 JEONG JAE-HONG [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]