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Three teenage boys identified as prime suspects in series of online bomb threats

Published: 05 Jan. 2026, 15:00

Military officials search Kakao office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Dec. 15, 2025, after the company reported receiving a bomb threat. [YONHAP]

Police have identified three teenage boys as prime suspects in a case involving a string of bomb threats posted online last December targeting major Korean companies including Kakao, Naver, KT and Samsung Electronics.

“We are investigating four individuals. Three were initially identified as suspects and one more confirmed through testimony,” the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said during a regular press briefing Monday.

Aside from one case involving someone impersonating the president, the remaining three suspects are all teenagers. Each has claimed to be a victim of identity theft.

A total of 11 threatening posts were made between Dec. 15 and 23 of last year on platforms such as the Kakao customer service board and KT's online application portal. The authors introduced themselves as “a high school dropout from Daegu,” “a middle school student in Gwangju” and other aliases, and claimed that they had already planted explosives at certain sites.

Police found evidence suggesting that the suspects knew each other online. Investigators are focusing on one teenage male as a key suspect and are reviewing whether he can be formally charged.

“The threats were all posted using IP addresses based in countries like Sweden, Switzerland and Poland,” a police official said. “We believe a virtual private network (VPN) was used and are in the process of securing search warrants.”

Kakao responded by blocking posts submitted via overseas VPNs immediately after the incident. No additional threats of a similar nature have been posted since the measure was implemented.

Police are continuing their investigation based on the IP logs and chat records they have obtained and are considering requesting international cooperation to track the suspect further.

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 KO SUNG-PYO [[email protected]]