September 30, 2025
SEOUL – A wave of bomb threats and mass violence hoaxes in South Korea is being driven not by extremists or organized groups, but by young adults acting out of frustration with society, according to data released Monday.
Half of the suspects arrested under South Korea’s new public intimidation law in the past several months are in their 20s and 30s, according to police and justice ministry data obtained by Rep. Song Seok-jun.
The most common motive, cited in roughly a third of the cases (13 out of 48), is anger or resentment toward society.
The law, which came into effect on March 18, criminalizes threats, often made online, to harm the public or unspecified groups. It carries penalties of up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won ($14,260).
Between March and July, authorities investigated 72 cases of public intimidation and apprehended suspects in 49 of them, totaling 48 individuals. Among those arrested, 16 were in their 20s and 8 were in their 30s.
Men made up the overwhelming majority, accounting for 41 of the 48 suspects, according to separate police data cited by Rep. Yang Bu-nam earlier this month.
Government officials say the real-world consequences of these hoaxes are far from trivial. Threats have led to mass evacuations, business closures and costly law enforcement mobilizations. In one incident in August, an online post claiming a bomb had been planted at Shinsegae’s flagship department store in Seoul led to the evacuation of 4,000 people and searches at 13 locations across the country. The suspects were teenagers and men in their 20s.
Beyond the disruption, officials argue the psychological toll on the public and damage to small businesses make these crimes especially harmful. The Ministry of Justice has already filed civil lawsuits demanding nearly 89 million won in compensation from suspects in three high-profile cases from 2023. In one of them, involving a threat to attack Sillim Station on Seoul Subway Line No. 2, a court recently ordered the full amount claimed, about 43.7 million won, to be paid to the state.
Sociologist Choo Ji-hyun of Seoul National University told local media that many of the younger suspects appear to be “attempting to prove their presence or power through threats of violence,” often using online platforms to perform these acts for an imagined audience.
This trend may be linked to broader psychological and economic pressures. A national survey released in May by Seoul National University’s School of Public Health found that more than half (55 percent) of South Korean adults reported living in a state of prolonged emotional frustration, with nearly 70 percent believing society is “fundamentally unfair.”