Horror YouTubers target vacant homes, raising trespassing concerns and exposing a broader issue

As YouTubers flock to abandoned houses and allegedly haunted buildings to film clickbait horror content, concerns are growing over their unauthorized entry into private properties and the broader issue of the country’s neglect of vacant homes.

One such full-time YouTuber — identified only by the surname Kim — with about 24,000 subscribers entered a vacant home in Gangwon without authorization in the middle of the night last month and livestreamed for approximately five hours. He promoted the broadcast by describing the location as a place where someone had recently died and noted that it was filled with traces of the deceased, including bloodstains and teeth.

The broadcast drew criticism from some of his viewers, who accused him of “using death for profit.”

Another female YouTuber, who has been active on the platform for seven years, uploaded a video with a thumbnail implying the presence of a corpse and attracted 1.1 million views.

“The number of full-time YouTubers going to abandoned houses [to film] is increasing,” Kim said. “As competition intensifies, creators end up trying to produce more provocative and extreme content.”

Another YouTuber with about 130,000 subscribers filmed inside the former National Forensic Service Building in Busan without permission and was indicted in 2022, ultimately receiving a two-year suspended sentence.

Legal experts say that courts will likely consider entering abandoned buildings without permission from the owner or manager to be a violation of the law.

In a 2022 ruling, the Supreme Court stated that a key criterion for determining unlawful entry is whether a person does so in a manner that objectively infringes upon the property’s state of peace and security.

“Even if a house is vacant, trespassing charges may apply [in such situations] if someone manages the property,” a lawyer specializing in criminal law said. “If the defendant damages any locks or other security devices to enter, the court could also charge them for property damage.”

However, in reality, it is challenging for police to prevent or monitor unauthorized entry into abandoned homes, as the owners have usually died or cannot be contacted, making it difficult to identify a clear victim. As a result, even when cases lead to prosecution, any resulting penalties are often limited to relatively small fines.

“Unlawful entry is not an offense that requires a victim’s formal complaint for prosecution,” a police official said. “But courts often need statements from the owner regarding the consequent damages to establish the existence of criminal intent.”

Experts argue that addressing the problem of derelict properties— a key factor behind the rise of abandoned-house content — is becoming increasingly urgent.

The number of vacant homes across the country continues to rise, but confusion has persisted because multiple government agencies have used different standards and management systems.

Regional governments have identified around 70,000 vacant homes that require maintenance or intervention.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Data and Statistics counted as many as 1.59 million, including temporarily unoccupied properties.

“The vacant-home issue is a complex social problem directly linked to safety, public security and sanitation,” said Ma Kang-rae, a professor of urban planning and real estate at Chung-Ang University.

“The government and local authorities should establish a single administrative channel and build an integrated management system for vacant homes as soon as possible.”

BY HAN CHAN-WOO  [[email protected]]