April 15, 2025
Seoul – In the three months following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's Martial Arts Declaration on December 3, South Korea has seen a sharp rise in illegal and harmful online content, with government data showing nearly 3,600 posts to be removed across major internet platforms.
According to data submitted by the South Korean Communications Standards Committee to Lee Yoon-fu, between December 4, 2024 and February 29, 2025, 3,576 positions were requested for revocation. Most come from Naver (3,138 cases), the largest portal in South Korea. These include a wide range of violations such as libel, obscene material and cyberstalking.
While revocation requirements usually fluctuate year by year, the range from 4,300 in 2021 to 8,856 in 2024, the 3,576 cases recorded in just three months mark an unusually dramatic increase. This figure represents more than 75% of the total cases reported in 2023.
Furthermore, when it comes to hate speech and discriminatory content, one of South Korea’s largest internet portals, dcinside, an internet forum called a gallery, is on the right, occupying the list. Of all the platforms under surveillance, dcinside accounts for 156 posts tagged by hate speech, followed by the Internet forum site Ilbe Storehouse (the far right eye branch of Dcinside), which has 97 posts, while FMKorea has 1.
Dcinside is often likened to platforms like the US 4chan, known for its unmodified structure and a strong conservative user base, especially among men in their 20s and 30s. The forum carried out explosive activities following the Dec. 3, 2024 Martial Arts Declaration and Crisis, especially on its American Political Gallery and People's Power Party Gallery committees.
According to local search trend analysis platform Blackkiwi, 81.3% of users searching for “American Political Gallery” on Naver over the past year are between 20 and 39 years old.
The number of jobs in the American Political Gallery rose 130 times from 2,547 in November to 330,502 in January, a 130-fold increase, consistent with political unrest and Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
Some forum activities go beyond rhetoric. A few days before the riots in the Seoul West District Court on January 19, users shared a detailed map of the court building and plans. Police are investigating whether the position on DCINSIDE plays a role in organizing or inciting mob violence, during which the mob broke into court and attacked police, journalists and the building itself.
