South Korean police are investigating a series of bomb threats posted online against some of the country’s largest corporations, after anonymous messages threatened explosions and violence at multiple corporate sites over several days.
The threats targeted Samsung Electronics, a global semiconductor and consumer electronics company, as well as Kakao and Naver, South Korea’s leading internet platform operators, and KT, a major telecommunications provider.
The messages were posted on corporate customer service boards and online application pages, repeatedly claiming that explosives had been planted at company headquarters and other facilities.
According to police, Kakao reported that at 11:29 a.m. on Dec. 18 a message appeared on its customer service board threatening to bomb Samsung Electronics’ headquarters in Suwon, south of Seoul.
Officers were dispatched to the site to review surveillance footage and conduct security checks. Earlier the same morning, another post claimed that explosives had been installed at Kakao’s main campus in Pangyo, a major technology hub, at the company’s headquarters on the island of Jeju, and at nearby offices of Naver. Police conducted checks at the locations mentioned.
At Kakao’s Jeju office, a search was carried out by a bomb disposal unit, and about 110 employees were evacuated and instructed to work remotely.
No explosives were found. Investigators say the incidents share consistent characteristics. The messages were posted under different names, often identifying the author as a student or former student, but police believe the identities were used without authorization.
The wording of the threats was similar, and the list of targets expanded across multiple companies, indicating a repeated and intentional pattern. Kakao has been targeted several times in recent days.
On Dec. 15, a post under the name of a person claiming to be a high school dropout from the Daegu area led to an employee evacuation.
On Dec. 17, a message using the same name appeared on KT’s online subscription page, alleging that a bomb had been planted at a KT building in Bundang.
Police believe the same identity was used in both cases. Police said the posts originated from overseas internet addresses associated with different countries.
Based on the lack of a consistent geographic origin and the similarities in the messages, investigators suspect the use of virtual private networks to conceal the sender’s location.
Authorities said making repeated bomb threats against major corporations constitutes a serious criminal offense, regardless of whether explosives are ultimately found.
Police are reviewing whether to transfer the investigation from the Bundang Police Station to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in order to consolidate the cases and intensify efforts to identify those responsible.
