South Korean police said Monday they were tracking the author of an online bomb threat targeting the Ministry of National Defense and had stepped up patrols around the compound.
The anonymous post was uploaded Sunday to the online community DCinside, claiming that an explosive had been planted at the Defense Ministry and would be detonated at 6 p.m. The ministry is located in Seoul’s Yongsan-gu, adjacent to the presidential office.
Seoul’s Yongsan Police Station received a report at around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, and authorities conducted a search of the ministry complex. No explosive devices were found, and officials said they are considering the possibility that the threat was a hoax.
The post has since been deleted.
The incident marked another in a series of online threats targeting public and state facilities in the country.
Three online posts last week claimed to have set up explosives in the buildings run by Kakao, the operator of the nation’s largest messaging service. The later threat made on Thursday claimed to have set up bombs at the company’s headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, its Jeju Island headquarters, and at the Naver building.
No actual explosives were found inside the buildings, but Kakao employees were evacuated.
Two of the threats against Kakao are thought to have been made by the same person. Police believe the perpetrator stole the identity of a middle school student, to whom the police tracked the IP address.
Those who threaten violence against unspecified members of the public are subject to punishment under the public threat clause, newly enacted this year and effective since March. Such threats are punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of 20 million won ($13,500), which can be increased to seven and a half years in prison or 30 million won for habitual offenders.
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