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Stronger measures, more aggressive lawsuits needed to combat hoax bomb threats, experts say

Published: 31 Aug. 2025, 16:41

Members of the Special Operation Unit leave Shinsegae Department Store’s main branch in Myeongdong, central Seoul, after completing a search for explosives on Aug. 5, following an online post on a community site claiming a bomb had been planted inside the store. [NEWS1]

Experts call for stronger legal measures against false bomb threats that are draining public funds by millions of won each time large-scale police responses are mobilized, including aggressive damage claims.

According to data released Sunday by Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Bu-nam and the National Police Agency, the government filed three lawsuits in 2023 against individuals behind false threats, seeking compensation ranging from 12 million won to 43.7 million won ($8,600 to $31,000). The damages reflect the cost of mobilized police units, including overtime pay and fuel, with each responding officer costing the state an average of about 61,600 won.

In one case on Aug. 5, 98 officers were dispatched to investigate a threat at the Shinsegae Department Store in central Seoul, which cost at least 6 million won. In another incident on Aug. 10, 53 officers were mobilized in response to a bomb threat at Olympic Park’s KSPO Dome, incurring approximately 3.2 million won in public expenditure.

Both cases were ultimately confirmed to be hoaxes. Nearly 10 similar fake threats, including faxes falsely signed under the name of a Japanese lawyer, have been reported this month alone, suggesting that several tens of millions of won in taxpayer funds may have been wasted in just a few weeks.

Police say the financial toll is only one part of the damage. The Shinsegae incident is estimated to have cost the store between 500 million and 600 million won in lost sales. Threats targeting schools have led to evacuations that disrupted student learning — a loss that cannot be measured in monetary terms.

Officials investigate southern Seoul's KSPO Dome after receiving a report of a bomb threat at the venue on Aug. 10. [YONHAP]

The three lawsuits currently underway involve threats related to a 2023 professional volleyball team stabbing hoax, a fake bomb threat at Jeju International Airport, and a murder warning near Sillim Station. In the volleyball case, the court has already ordered full compensation of 12 million won. Proceedings for the Jeju case, in which authorities are seeking 32.5 million won, are ongoing. The Sillim Station case, involving a 43.7 million won claim, is scheduled for a first ruling on Sept. 19.

Experts are urging the government to use lawsuits more proactively to curb the public waste caused by false threats.

Police say that in future incidents involving special forces deployments, they will actively consider pretrial detention and strengthen educational outreach to younger people, noting that more than half those behind recent threats were in their 20s or 30s. They also released new guidelines on Aug. 25 advising police to handle low-risk threats by increasing patrols rather than immediately mobilizing special forces.

“Along with swift response to false threats, we need fundamental measures to reduce public anxiety and harm,” said lawmaker Yang.

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 [[email protected]]