Common forms of identity document forgery on the internet include government-issued ID cards, proof of employment, certificates of seal impression, diplomas and academic transcripts. (Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) – Online threads promoting fake identities and suicide are on the rise with nearly 1,500 cases reported so far this year, the government has found.
More than 1,150 instances of fake identities and 276 cases of online promotion for suicide were reported during the first quarter of this year, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) said yesterday.
The drastic increase in the first quarter alone accounts for over 77 percent of the total number of reports of similar cases filed with the KCSC.
Common forms of identity document forgery on the internet include government-issued ID cards, proof of employment, certificates of seal impression, diplomas and academic transcripts.
When it came to suicide, most of the online material promoting or encouraging suicide contained information regarding possible ways of committing suicide, as well as threads and advertisements looking for suicide companions.
Last month, two people were arrested in Seoul for selling a so-called “suicide kit” containing nitrogen gas and overdoses of sedative to suicidal people online, after assuring buyers via their twitter account that their method had ‘100% success’.
The two criminals on some occasions were discovered to have visited the homes of those who purchased their suicide kit to install equipment such as a tent designed to help commit suicide.
The KSCS said, “Identity document forgery can lead to illegal acts such as mortgage fraud and poses great harm to our society, while the spread of information regarding suicide can cheapen the value we have for human life.”
On tackling the growing problem of forgery and suicide on the Internet, the South Korean Internet censorship body said it will make guidelines stricter and work closely with different organizations and law enforcement such as the Korean Medical Association and the National Police Agency.
Though the suicide rate among South Koreans dropped slightly from 2011 to 2015, the number of people who lost their lives to chemical suicide almost doubled over the same period.
Since 2003, South Korea has had the misfortune of having the highest suicide rate among OCED countries. In 2015, 25.8 out of every 100,000 people committed suicide in South Korea.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
