It was reported on the 18th that 90,000 advertisement posts stating 'I will facilitate drug transactions and prostitution' had been uploaded to a university's homepage in Busan over the past week. Currently, all these posts have been deleted, but it remains unclear who uploaded them and why.
The problematic posts were said to have been uploaded on the notice board of the Business Administration department's homepage at University A in Busan. If you click on the post titled 'Selling ketamine', it urges you to come to a secure messenger, Telegram, by saying 'ㅌㄹ'.
There was also a post titled 'Business trip office'. This contains implications for prostitution in officetels. When a ChosunBiz reporter contacted the Telegram ID listed in the post, a reply came just one minute later stating, '130,000 won per hour, and both motels and homes are available.'
In addition, there were advertisement posts claiming to sell illegal steroid hormones. The sales methods and prices for steroids were detailed. Some posts led to illegal gambling sites when clicked.
Posts with such content reached a total of 90,000. The notice board displays 25 posts per page, filling up to 3,964 pages with this kind of content. There were delays and errors in accessing the notice board.
The problematic posts were uploaded from the 10th to the 16th. They stayed for a week before being deleted on the morning of the 17th.
A representative from University A said, 'This is the first time that such advertisement posts have been uploaded in bulk on the notice board,' and added, '(I only recognized the issue) after receiving a journalistic call from ChosunBiz.' They noted, 'We will block the path for non-members to post and have a department teaching assistant monitor regularly.' However, the representative stated, 'We do not plan to refer the case to the police.'
The 'Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc.' stipulates that unauthorized access to someone else's homepage and posting content can result in imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won. Furthermore, advertising the sale of narcotics online can lead to imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won in accordance with the 'Act on the Control of Narcotics'. Advertising prostitution facilitation online can result in punishment under the 'Act on the Punishment of Acts of Prostitution Facilitation,' also with up to 3 years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won.
A legal expert noted, 'Even if University A does not refer the case to the police, they can independently recognize and initiate an investigation into this matter' and added, 'Ultimately, who posted those messages and why needs to be clarified through investigation.'