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South Korean government moves to censor racist remarks online

South Korean government moves to censor racist remarks online

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The South Korean government is cracking down on internet racism by giving its media watchdog the power to delete offensive posts. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) says that racist remarks are on the rise following the recent alleged murder of a Korean woman by a Korean-Chinese man, and has deleted six posts so far this year.

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korea web

The South Korean government is cracking down on internet racism by giving its media watchdog the power to delete offensive posts. Six comments have been removed from unspecified sites by the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) so far this year, and the organization says that racist remarks are on the rise following the recent alleged murder of a Korean woman by a Korean-Chinese man. The comments ranged from specifically anti-Chinese to more generally nationalistic spiels against multiculturalism.

While six comments might not seem like a huge amount, the formal state intervention is notable, and Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik says that it's necessary to tackle the issue as South Korea deals with growing levels of immigration. It's not the first time we've seen the nation's government take a heavy hand to the internet — retweeting North Korean propaganda carries a potential jail sentence, and Reporters Without Borders has South Korea on its list of countries "under surveillance" for censorship policies.